Ooops!
by pyrojaniac
Summary: Motoki! If you're gonna lock Mamoru & Usagi in a closet together, don't forget that they're there! Add to that a bet of high stakes, a slightly bipolar Usagi, a couple of meddling spirits, and you can be sure chaos will ensue.
1. I: You're On

**Summary: Toki-kun :wags finger at Motoki: if you're going to lock Mamoru and Usagi in a closet together, don't forget that they're there!** **Add to that a bet of high stakes between two best friends, and you've got yourself a First Love Fic. Slightly AU because it's hard to write a Fist Love fic as anything but AU. **

**A/N # 1: In case you were wondering, the main reason I wrote this fic is because I'm always reading the "Let's lock Mamoru and Usa in a closet for five minutes and watch them fall magically in love and make out on the Arcade's hidden cameras" or something along those lines. After a while, this type of plot got really boring because, let's face it, nobody falls in love in five minutes, so I thought, what if...and this fic appeared in my head. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't sue; my plot, plagiarize and suffer greatly :smiles insanely: I also don't own The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the quotes at the end of each chapter. Those are almost always from coolsig, but in any case, they are cited. **

If a character's conscience decided to annoy him/her, the text will be in _italics_ and encased in '…' If one of the characters is talking to his/her inner voice, the text will be in _italics_. Dreams are also in _italics_. POV and setting information is **bold**.

**OOOPS!  
Chapter One  
-**_You're On-_

**-Tsukino Usagi  
Friday Afternoon (4:45); Tokyo-**

It was a beautiful day, by my standards. Not too hot, not too cold—just right. The perfect weather to make me appreciate the beauty of Spring and forget that April showers didn't bring May flowers, but rather May thunderstorms, which have been scaring me for as long as I can remember. The scent of Sakura blossoms hung heavy in the air, the trees that bore them already in full bloom. Haruna-sensei had just dismissed me, and it was about time, too! She'd given me detention for being late that morning, even though it was my first time all week. I had a strong suspicion things weren't going well with her newest boyfriend, but it wasn't my right to pry. Of course, there was also a chance that she had it in for me, especially, but that was a rather ridiculous prospect. After all, what could I have possibly done to deserve it?

_'Um, well here's an idea: It could be because you're always late, you never give in your H.W., you daydream during class, or gee, maybe it's because she just doesn't like you.' _

_Who asked you? _

'_You did, darling.'_

_You do have a very active imagination, don't you? _I mentally asked the voice.

'_Well, you'll be happy to know I get it from you, duckie, you and all your ever so stimulating video games.' _Even in my head I could hear the sarcasm, and it took every ounce of maturity I had for me to ignore it.

I wrinkled my nose. _Duckie?_ _You sound about fifty._

'_Well that's wonderful, considering I'm all of one thousand and thirty.'_

In case you're wondering, no, I'm not completely out of my mind and yes, the voice in my head actually does exist. Has, in fact, since the battle at the Starlight Tower. Its, or rather _her_, name is Princess Serenity, and she absolutely, flat-out refuses to leave. Apparently, I amuse her.

'_Speaking of amusement, dear, you'd better walk faster if you expect to spend any time at all playing video games at the arcade today.'_

_Nah, all the good ones are taken by this time, anyway. _

_'Well, that's too bad, I suppose. Perhaps seeing your precious Toki-kun will cheer you up. You haven't seen that stud muffin since last Saturday.'_ I resisted the urge to gag.

_Stud muffin? Who on Earth still talks like that? _I shook my head in disbelief. _And anyhow, why in the world would seeing Mamoru cheer me up?_

_'Mamoru?_ _Where in Selene's name did that come from?' _

_Didn't you say…_

'_No, I said _Motoki_.' _A laugh. '_Now I know what's really been on your mind lately.'_

_What an absolutely preposterous idea! Mamoru-baka is an enormous jerk with an ego to match. It's a wonder he manages to walk upright, what with the size of his head as opposed to the rest of him. _Another laugh.

_'Yes, he is a bit of a prick, isn't he? Nice smile, though...'_

_I wouldn't know, would I?_

_'Are you _bitter

_Of course not! _If I had been speaking, the sentence would have come out a snap.

_'Somebody's in denial,' _the words came out in a sing-song tone typical of kindergarteners.

_I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about._

_'I'm sure you don't. Oh, and you just passed the arcade, thought you ought to know.' _

_Ha ha ha. Very Funny._

_'No, it isn't, actually. I saw the sign at least five minutes ago.'_

I stopped and looked around. _Bloody much help you are, _I snarled, turning on my heel.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
5:15pm; Crown Center Arcade-**

I sipped my coffee slowly enough so that I wouldn't burn my mouth but fast enough so that I didn't look like I was trying to avoid just that. Appearance was everything. And besides, I was having a bad enough week without alerting half of Tokyo to the fact that my coffee was too hot, but I was stupid enough to try and drink it anyway. I briefly wondered if Odango Atama was going to show up today. She hadn't been to the arcade for nearly a week, and I was beginning to wonder when the withdrawal symptoms were going to start.

_'Wow. A little harsh, no''_

_Right now, I couldn't care less. _

_'Ah yes, you nearly failed that physics exam, didn't you?' _

_I _don't _want to talk about it._

"Ow!"

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Furuhata Motoki-**

"Mamoru, are you okay?"

Mamoru nodded an okay, his eyes looking slightly glazed.

"Mamoru, have you suddenly lost your ability to speak?"

Mamoru nodded.

"Mamoru, Usagi's here."

"Oh, that's great. Isn't she gorgeous?"

"Mamoru, I think you've been studying too much."

"You know what, Motoki? So do I. So do I."

"Mamoru, you're Tuxedo Kamen."

"I know."

"Mamoru, you're my best friend, and I want what's best for you."

Mamoru nodded.

"That's why I'm going to take you to the nearest mental ward."

Mamoru nodded.

"And on the way there, we'll both get abducted by aliens."

"That's nice Motoki."

You see, that's when I got more than just a little ticked off. Wouldn't you, if you had been having a conversation with yourself while your best friend daydreamed about only-Kami-knows-what?

I grabbed a cleaning cloth of the counter and brought it crashing down on his arm. I wasn't being abusive, just concerned. Really.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

I saw Motoki giving me an evil look. "Okay, I'm afraid to ask, but what did I do?"

"Mamoru, I've been talking to myself for the past five minutes. Do you mind telling me what was so important that you didn't even bother to tell me to shut up?

"I just got a little lost in thought."

Motoki gave me a weird look. "Have you found yourself yet?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, you know, you said some things about Usa—" I gave him a look.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Yeah," he laughed. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"Speaking of Odango, where's she been lately?"

Motoki looked at me suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm beginning to suffer from withdrawal symptoms—no verbal sparring for a week—can be very harmful to the psyche of your average seventeen-year-old male, you know."

Motoki rolled his eyes and went back to wiping down the counter. "You know what I can't understand? What have you got against Usagi? She's a perfectly nice person, yet you insist on making her life miserable. Is it because she's not a part of your personal fan club? Or perhaps because she's the only female on the island that will stand up to you?"

I frowned at him. Surely I wasn't that shallow.

Completely oblivious, he continued dragging the pink-and-green-polka-dotted cloth across the already gleaming counter. "Yes, she's not doing too well in school, but she's trying really hard, and yes, she's a bit clumsy, but she's gotten better lately. Have you ever really taken the time to look at her and see her for what she is now, not what you've made her out to be? She's matured in the past year so much it's like she's a completely different person."

"Different or not, she's not exactly normal, is she?"

"How so?" Motoki frowned.

"I don't know, there's just something about her…"

"Look," Motoki said impatiently, "here she comes now, so why don't you, for once, turn on the Chiba Mamoru charm and woo her like every other girl you've ever encountered."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Bullshit. You're scared that you can't do it." I narrowed my eyes.

"You did not just go there, Furuhata."

"On the contrary, Chiba, I think I did." I quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you challenging me?"

"Perhaps." My head tilted inquisitively to the side.

"Go on."

"5500 yen says you can't get her by the end of the week."

"In what way?"

"Willingly dating you."

The automatic glass doors slid open, and Odango walked in, dragging her bookbag along behind her. No problem. Turning back towards Motoki, I grinned.

"You're on."

(X)(X)(X)  
-**Tsukino** **Usagi**-

As I walked into the arcade, I realized that it was less crowded than usual. That meant that it was probably late, and sure enough, when I glanced at my watch, I saw that it was almost five-thirty. The arcade would be closing soon. Too bad I wouldn't have any time to try out the new Sailor V video game—just to chat with Motoki for a few minutes, maybe have a milkshake or two.

As I walked up to the counter at which Mamoru and Motoki were sitting, Mamoru, who I had just mentally vowed to ignore, opened his mouth. I clenched my jaw, glaring at him, ready for whatever flaw of mine he was planning on flaunting in my face this time. It never came.

"Usagi, you're looking particularly beautiful today."

My mouth dropped open.

"Come again?" I managed weakly.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

Here she comes. All right, Chiba, time to turn on the charm.

_'Do you honestly think you can get her to like you after the way you've treated her?'_ my inner voice asked.

I snorted mentally in reply.

"Usagi, you're looking particularly beautiful today," I said, making sure to wipe all traces of sarcasm from my voice. I inwardly smirked at the result. I'd actually sounded sincere.

Her mouth dropped open, and she looked down to make sure she was still wearing her fuku-like school uniform.

"Come again?" she managed weakly.

I smiled at her. "Surely this can't be the first time I've said it, for I've thought it everyday since I first laid eyes upon you."

She blinked and then shook her head, setting her mouth into a hard, thin line. "I don't know what twisted game you're playing, Chiba, but you can be sure that I'm not falling for it," she told me coldly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Motoki grin and then wipe the smile of his face when Usagi turned to talk to him.

"How are you, Motoki?"

"Great, Usagi, and how are you?"

"I'm all right," she said softly, and I could have sworn there was a trace of sadness in her voice. "Haruna-sensei has got it in for me, as usual, but then again, so does the rest of the world, so I don't see why I'm surprised."

"Why would you think that?" Motoki sounded genuinely worried and now, I was wondering if perhaps he had a real reason to feel that way.

"Experience," she told him, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes with a light smile. It didn't fool me, and it sure as hell didn't fool him.

He opened his mouth, perhaps to ask her more, but she seemed to sense that there would be unwanted questions and interrupted him.

"Motoki, I should be getting home, but can I have a milkshake to go? Chocolate, with whipped cream?"

"Of course," he said and set about filling her order while she rummaged through her bag for her wallet.

Once she had the milkshake in her hand, Usagi smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Iie, Usagi. My family and I are going to the mountains for the weekend, so the arcade will be closed."

"All weekend?" she sounded so desperate, as if the arcade was her means of escape. _Escape from what?_ I wondered.

"Hai, and I may close early today too, since we're leaving after a quick dinner, tonight."

"Oh." There was that soft voice again.

"Hey don't worry: you've got loads of friends. You can always go shopping with them."

"Hai, of course."

"Gomen nasai."

She shrugged and smiled. "Eh, I'm sure I'll survive."

"Hey, Usagi, you going to miss Motoki while he's away?" I tried to let a hint of jealousy creep into my voice.

"That would be my business and mine alone, Chiba-san." She had heard what I wanted her to hear, and it had put her even more on the defensive than I could have thought possible.

Motoki, on the other hand, said exactly what I had expected. "Jealous, Mamoru?"

I shrugged. "Perhaps."

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Furuhata Motoki-**

I swore under my breath. I should have known he'd do that.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mamoru-baka?" Usagi had apparently had enough.

"Whatever do you mean?" Mamoru asked innocently.

"Have you, oh I don't know…Been possessed? Had your brain replaced by aliens? Perhaps suffered a major head injury lately?"

Mamoru folded his arms across his chest. "Now what makes you say that? Are you implying that I'm not myself?" I shook my head. Had he asked, I would have been able to tell him right away that this was most certainly not the way to go about things with Usagi.

"That is exactly what I'm implying."

"Why?"

"Do you really expect me to melt into a puddle at your feet like every other girl you've ever smiled at after a few nice words?"

Mamoru shrugged.

"Well, you've got another think coming. I'm not just some girl you can hit on whenever you're bored, and if you thought so for even a minute I hope this conversation has proved you wrong!"

"Right," said Mamoru, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "because who would be interested in a clumsy, immature, cry-baby of a ditzy, blonde, fifteen-year-old who is so opposed to gravity that when she trips and falls, she takes the whole damned street with her!"

"My point exactly," she told him, her voice so cold I could've sworn the temperature in the arcade had dropped a few degrees.

What happened next was a bit of a blur. Usagi stood up, ready to leave, Mamoru, for no reason obvious to me, grabbed her wrist, throwing her off balance, and her half-finished milkshake ended up in his lap.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she murmured, yanking her hand out of his grasp. I did not fail to notice that she didn't sound at all convincing. Looking just a tad upset, Mamoru reached for the napkins on the counter and failing to see his still-very-hot cup of black coffee, accidentally hit it with his elbow. I yelped as the scalding liquid came into contact with my skin. Mamoru began to apologize, Usagi tried to leave, and me? I'd had enough.

I'm rather ashamed to say that at that moment, I forgot about the bet and the 5500 yen that were riding on my winning it.

"I have had just about enough of your babyish quarreling," I snarled, and no more than a minute later, they were both locked inside of one very sound-proof closet.

When the time came to lock up the arcade, I had successfully forgotten that Mamoru and Usagi were still there. _That_ was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. And it cost me 5500 yen.

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: So the dialogue is different, and things are going a lot slower between them. You may have noticed that Mamoru is 17 and Usagi is 15; author's** **prerogative, folks.**

**Anyway about the yen thing, no I am not Japanese, so basically, I went to Google and typed in yen. One of the results said that in December 2003, one dollar equaled to about 107 yen. I did the math and it came out that $50 was about 5350 yen, so I just rounded it off a bit.**

**Also, some will notice that later, the Japanese suffixes will be on and off. That's intended. I've seen quite a few The Karate Kid movies, and I know the basic concept behind the suffixes, but it's just a little weird for me to write because I can never be quite sure if I'm doing it correctly, and that kinda bothers me, so I'll just stick with using the Japanese names and maybe add a suffix when necessary.**

**Feedback is greatly appreciated. **

_**/A professor is someone who talks in someone else's sleep./ **-Unknown _


	2. II: Not the Best Way to Pass the Time

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Sailor Moon, so please, don't sue! Amethysts Garnets are red, sapphires are blue, if you dare to plagiarize, I'll come after you! (Rhyme change suggestion by **Dannika Bakker—**you're right—it's does fit better.)**

**Warning: There are reasons this fic is rated PG-13. This chapter is one of them. It contains strong language and some innuendo. You have been warned.**

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Two  
-**_Not the Best Way to Pass the Time-_

-**Tsukino** **Usagi  
5 Minutes Later; Closet-**

"Motoki, I'm going to fuckin' kill you when we get out of here!" yelled a very angry Mamoru, as he banged his fists against the door.

"_If_ we get out of here," I pointed out. He didn't reply, so I shrugged and set about ignoring him.

While Mamoru was attacking the door, I dropped my schoolbag into the cleanest corner I could find and sat down, taking in my surroundings. The closet was no bigger than two and one-fourth square meters (one and half by one and a half meters), and what a two point twenty-five square meters it was. A single bare light bulb hung lit from the poorly painted ceiling, casting eerie shadows on the room's inhabitants and making it seem even more unpleasant than it was. From what I could see, the walls were painted a light brown, but the paint had long ago started peeling away. The floor was covered in flowered tiles and more dust than my house's attic. All in all, it was a very pleasant place. Really.

"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Mamoru, stopping his tantrum for a moment to look at me.

I raised an eyebrow at the delayed reaction but answered nonetheless. "A week ago, Motoki told me that his father was going to sound-proof the arcade. Apparently he had been seriously considering it for some time, since the neighbors are always complaining about the noise. Didn't he tell you?"

"He mentioned it, but I didn't think he was serious," Mamoru told me, a little confused.

"Oh, well, I guess he was, then," I bit back, still smarting from his earlier comment.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

An uncomfortable silence followed Usagi's statement. Finally, I got tired of it and decided to break the ice.

"So, uh Usagi, you wanna do something?" I asked.

"You know, that could _so_ be taken the wrong way. But then, I suppose that wasn't what you meant." She raised her eyebrows.

"Right, Odango, you should get your head out of the gutter. I'd never try anything of the sort with you."

'_Oh please, you'd do anything with legs.' _I nearly choked at that comment.

_I don't know what the hell you're on about—perhaps you're remembering what you did for fun back at the time of the Silver Millennium?_

"Oh please, you'd do anything with legs."

I stared at her. "Where the _hell_ did you get that idea?"

She made a noncommittal noise and turned to look at the wall.

And with that my attempt to make conversation went to the dogs, and silence reigned for the next ten minutes…and then:

"I'm bored," Usagi whined in typical, Odango Atama fashion.

"So? What do you expect me to do?"

"I don't know, but you better do something because a bored Usagi is not a happy Usagi, and when I'm unhappy, I get violent. Believe me, you _do not_ want to know what I'm capable of when I get violent!"

I glared at her. "Why don't you find a way to entertain yourself, then?"

"Because it's your fault that I'm stuck in here in the first place."

"Oh yeah, how d'you figure that?"

"Simple: you drowned Motoki in scalding coffee, he got pissed off, and now we're here."

I shrugged, not wishing to get into a fight with her. "Fine. You have a pack of cards?"

Usagi scrunched up her nose in thought. "Probably," she said, grabbing her schoolbag and proceeding to rummage through it. "Found it," she grinned a minute later, pulling out the little box. "Wanna play B.S.?" Just like that the old Usagi was back.

"B.S.?"

"_Bullshit_," she told me, rolling her eyes.

'_Doesn't she look really cute when she does that?'_

"Oh would you just _shut up_, you sex-deprived pervert!"

Usagi's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

I licked my lips and chuckled nervously. "I wasn't talking to you."

For a few minutes, she just stared at me, then:

"You know what, I don't want to know, let's just play best out of three."

"All right…"

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino Usagi-**

"Mamoru-san," I whined, "How could you win every round?" It had been an hour since I'd pulled the deck of cards out of my subspace pocket, and we'd just finished our third game.

"Well, Usagi, that's what happens when you play against a master."

"_Master_? Yeah right! You didn't even know what B.S. stood for until I told you. You just got all the good cards," I told him. "Anyway, I don't want to play cards anymore, let's do something else."

"All right, how about instead, we take turns saying something about ourselves and then asking the other person to say something similar."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ya lost me."

"For example: My favorite food is chocolate; what's yours?"

"Oh I get it, ok, can I go first?"

"Go ahead."

"My favorite colors are pink and white; what are yours?"

"Black."

"Do you like green?"

"It's all right, why?"

"'Cause you always wear that ugly jacket."

"Hey! It's not ugly. It happens to be Armani, and very expensive Armani, at that."

"Well, maybe you should stick to black because Armani or not, that jacket should never see the light of day again."

"Whatever. My favorite food is chocolate; what's yours?"

"I like anything sweet! My least favorite food is carrots; what's yours?"

"Carrots? How can you hate carrots? They're so healthy!"

"That's exactly my point, you orange-and-green-loving weirdo."

"Hey at least my favorite color isn't pink, okay?"

"There is nothing wrong with pink!"

"There is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, IS NOT!"

"Is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too, is too IS TOO!"

"Jerk," I muttered sticking out my tongue.

"Look, Usagi, this bickering is getting us nowhere. Let's just keep going."

"Fine."

"Okay, I don't have a least favorite food."

"Of course you don't, you're perfect," I grumbled. He ignored me.

"My favorite subject is physics, I don't have a least favorite subject."

"Wonderful. We know the conversation is going to hell when we have nothing left to talk about but school."

"I was just wondering if you have any favorite subjects."

"For your information, Mamoru, my favorite subjects are Home Ec. and Music, and unlike you, I also have subjects that I hate. They are Math and English. My turn: My favorite animal's a bunny; what's yours?"

"I don't have a favorite animal," Mamoru told me tensely.

"Jeez, Mr. _Gloom & Doom_!" He rolled his eyes at my assessment.

"I was born on 3 August, my blood type is A, and my astrological sign is Leo; you?"

"My birthday is 30 June, my blood type is O negative, and my astrological sign is Cancer. Hmm...I hate dentists, ghosts, and pop quizzes; your turn."

"I hate needles. My best friends are Furuhata Motoki and Ittou Asanuma; who are yours?"

She stared at me, her mouth wide open.

"What?"

"You have a minus-zero personality, and yet you manage to have two best friends. How is that possible?"

"I'm talented," Mamoru replied, grinning.

_'I'm sure,' _Serenity murmured suggestively.

Aware that my cheeks were quickly becoming the color of ripe strawberries, I hurried to answer Mamoru's question so that he wouldn't notice.

_What to ask...what to ask...oh, I got it! Parents always make for good conversation._

"Mamoru, myfather's a magazine editor, and my mother is a professor at the Azubu Institute of Technology; where do your parents work?"

For a reason unknown to me, he tensed. "My parents are dead." he said in clipped tones, his eyes warning me not to push the matter.

'_You would have been better off telling him you're Sailor Moon and asking if he perhaps has an alter ego as well.'_

_Oi, I think you're right._

"Oh Kami-sama, I'm so sorry!"

"Look," said Mamoru turning to me, "I don't need your or anybody else's pity."

"That's good, Mamoru, because you know what, I don't pity you. I never did. I just meant to say that nobody should have to go through something like that, but you did, and there's nothing either of us can do about it now. And, if you're planning on continuing being such a bad conversationalist, I might as well catch up on my sleep."

'_Conversationalist?_ _Rather big word for you, ne?'_

_Sod._ _Off._

"Great. I expect you schoolbag will make a suitable pillow," he told me, turning away.

"What the hell? I'm trying to be nice and—"

"Don't hurt yourself," he snapped at me.

"Fine, I give up!" I threw my hands up into the air.

"Good. It's about time you've realized what a hopeless case I am."

"You're right, Chiba, you are a hopeless case. You're nothing but a wimp who is scared shitless to open up to people, to let them care!"

"Good thing we agree, then."

"Oh, fuck you!" I exclaimed, my anger getting the best of me.

"It'd probably improve your mood!" he snarled.

I raised my eyebrows at the statement, momentarily forgetting what we had been fighting about in the first place. "Are you volunteering?" I asked impishly.

"Just name the time and place," he shot back.

I blushed. "Okay, getting weird."

He laughed. "Sorry."

"Me too."

"For what?" he asked, gazing into my eyes.

"For acting like—no, for _being_ a jerk. I let my temper get the better of me and said a lot of things I didn't mean."

"About the volunteering…" he trailed off.

"No, that I meant," I told him briskly, trying not to laugh as he choked in response, and failing spectacularly.

"You're not serious," he managed.

"You don't know that." Wow, that had so been worth it, just to see the look on his face. It was too bad I didn't have my camera.

He laughed, and for the first time in my presence, he was laughing with me, not at me, and you know what? It felt good.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

When the laughter died down, I glanced curiously at my watch. Seven forty-five? The hell? No way we'd been in there for two hours.

"Usagi, what time is it?" I heard myself ask.

"Oh, it's um…" She fumbled around for a minute until she could see her watch in the dim light. "Seven…forty-eight? We've been in here for more than two hours?"

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. Usagi was right, we had been in there for two hours, and we would get hungry soon enough, not to mention sore from sitting motionless for so long.

"You should probably get some sleep, we'll be stuck here for a while."

"Yeah, ok. Good night."

"'Night."

I watched as she turned over on her side and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. She soon fell asleep. I supposed I should probably get some sleep too. Only problem, as I soon realized, was that I had been infected with a case of temporary insomnia. I stole a glance at the sleeping Odango. How could she be so nice to everyone? Always smiling at the world, even if not at me? How could she always be so...happy, so...optimistic, when the world was like it was? Just then, Usagi turned in her sleep so that she ended up facing me.

'KISS HER!

_Go away._

_'Look at her.'_

_What? Why? _

_'JUST LOOK AT HER, YOU DIMWIT!'_

_Ok, I'm looking, I'm looking. _

_'She's beautiful, isn't she?' _

_Well, she's not particularly bad looking._

_'Good, now that we agree, kiss her.'_

_Why would I do a stupid thing like that? _

_'Because you want to.'_

_I do not._

_'Yes you d- Look, just kiss her already.' _

_NO! _

_'It's not like she's gonna know.' _

_Uh-uh! _

_'Just kiss her! There's no harm in a little kiss.'_

_No! I have a bet going for 5500 yen, remember? Kissing her while she's asleep isn't the best way to win her over. _

_'In case you haven't noticed, smart-ass, you haven't exactly been winning her over. So, either you're gonna kiss her or you're not. I vote for you to kiss her.' _

_I can't believe I'm actually listening to you, _I thought back, complying. Just as my lips brushed against Usagi's, her eyes fluttered open...

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: You may notice that Usagi's personality seesaws between chapters, but this is mostly because she has matured more than she'd like people to know and sometimes, her mature side slips through. Towards the end, expect a fight between Usagi and Mamoru regarding her character where she blows up like you wouldn't believe and reveals a lot more than she ever meant to. **

**And before someone jumps down my throat for making poor, innocent Mamo-chan so slutty, he's not. See, Usagi says he is because to Serenity (you know, that voice in her head) Mamoru and Endymion are one and the same and I imagine Endymion was a tad promiscuous before he met Serenity—I mean really—think of the time period. And Endymion, who's the voice in Mamoru's head, likes to think Mamoru's more like him than he really is. So don't worry, Mamoru in this fic is not the equivalent of fanon!Draco. **

**If you know what that means, leave a review. If you don't know what that means, leave a review anyway. :P**

**_/Yes, the lectures are optional. Graduation is also optional./_** -_Bob Bickford_


	3. III: An Awkward Moment

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Sailor Moon! Do you? Yes, this is my plot! Use it I'll send my muses after you! **

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Three  
-**_An Awkward Moment-_

**-Tsukino Usagi-**

-(X)-

_I was walking...somewhere. There was fog; lots of fog, and I couldn't see where I was going. There was a flash of light to my left, and I spun around to see what must have been one of the ugliest youma in current existence; electric blue in color, with six pairs of eyes, a head covered in scales, and feet that were put on backwards. The no-clothing bit didn't help. It rushed at me, and I lunged aside to avoid it, or rather tried. My feet refused to budge, as if they were permanently stuck to the ground. I reached for my transformation brooch, only to find it missing. My knees buckled; this was everything I had ever been afraid of—being cornered by a youma and not being able to defend myself against it. _

_Fear, quick, panicked gasps, head spinning…so I think I can be forgiven for not noticing that I was flying…all right, I wasn't flying per se, but someone was carrying me. Tuxedo Kamen, of course. Trust him to save the day, even in my dreams. No corny speeches today, though. Surprise, surprise. _

_We came to a stop on a deserted rooftop and he put me down, then deliberately wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. _He's going to kiss me, _I realized a nanosecond before his lips touched mine. I pulled away—not that it was a bad thing being kissed by him, but really, Tuxedo Kamen had never before showed the slightest interest in me, so excuse me if I was a bit suspicious. In reply to my ever-so-kind gesture, he pulled off his mask and everything went black._

-(X)-

I opened my eyes just in time to see Mamoru pull away. Pull away as if he just kissed me. Wonderful.

"Mamoru, what are you doing?"

"Er…there was a crumb on your cheek."

I raised my eyebrows. "One that you happened to be brushing off with your mouth?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Something like that, yes."

"Right…"

An awkward silence followed, in which neither of us seemed to be able to stay in the same position for more than five seconds. Both of us knew what had happened but neither of us was willing to say it. Finally, after five minutes of restless shifting, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Why?" I asked him softly.

He shrugged in reply. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

He glanced over at me to see how I was taking it to find my jaw set and my eyes flashing angrily--the two signs that said I wasn't what you'd call happy at the moment.

"Hey, Chiba," I called, "this is where you run, or at least duck, because I'm about to inflict some serious damage."

Much to my disappointment, he didn't do either. "Marry me?"

"What?" My reaction was something akin to when he complimented me earlier in the afternoon.

Mamoru laughed. "Just trying to shut you up."

Then I really did throw a punch…and I missed…or rather, he caught my fist and wouldn't let it anywhere near his face, which was what I had been aiming for in the first place, but since my fist didn't come into contact with the intended target, I missed, whether I swung and didn't connect or I swung and he blocked. But I digress.

"Seriously though, since you're refusing my marriage proposal, you have to make it up to me. How about dinner and a movie, when we get out of here?"

I froze—he actually did look serious—not like when he'd "proposed". This was something that one just doesn't count on happening. It's like when someone asks you: what is the craziest thing you can imagine happening to you today, and you reply: running into a talking cat that tells you you're supposed to save the world and the guy that's done nothing but tease you mercilessly ever since you met him asking you out. But then again, the former had gone and happened, so it was quite possible the latter could do the same.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

I watched her contemplate my proposition, a closed, unreadable expression on her face.

"No," she finally told me, jerking back her arm with strength that I hadn't expected. That, in addition to the shock I felt at her refusal, caused me to let go.

All right then, time for Plan B…

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Furuhata Motoki  
9:15pm; Cabin in the Mountains-**

I yawned as indiscreetly as I could and slumped back against the pillows. It had been Unazuki's turn to choose the movie, and she had, as always, chosen a chick flick. A bad one, at that. Now, I'm sure you don't understand how there can be good and bad chick flicks, but there is a slight difference. See, a good chick flick is one where despite all the soppy romance, there is some semblance of a plot and maybe, if you're really lucky, some humor. A bad chick flick is something akin to the monstrosity I had been forced to watch that night.

My father had fallen asleep ten minutes into the movie. It was now an hour later, and I was trying, as inconspicuously as I could, mind you, to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, all I could do was yawn incessantly while Unazuki, along with my mother sat watching with rapt attention.

Unable to successfully fall asleep, I could only follow the movements on the screen with half-lidded eyes, my brain not even bothering to process what I was seeing. That's why I think I can be forgiven for not immediately understanding why a feeling of déjà vu settled over me when one of the characters locked his best friend and the girl he was clearly destined to end up with in a closet.

Then it hit me.

"Shit!" I bolted upright.

"Motoki, what's wrong?" Mom asked, worried.

I felt my face was grow pale with slowly increasing horror.

"I locked Usagi and Mamoru in a storage closet," I mumbled, rummaging through my dad's jacket for the car keys.

Unazuki snorted. "Serves them right. Maybe they'll finally learn how to get along."

"Not bloody likely," I muttered, heading towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Mom asked.

"I have to get them out, while there's still something of them left to get out."

"But it's too late to drive," she protested weakly.

"I'll be fine," I yelled over my shoulder as I rushed out to the car, but as I got onto the highway, the only thing I could think of was that I would sure as hell _not_ be fine.

Those two would skin me alive.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
10:30pm; Closet-**

…now if only I knew what Plan B was. How the hell was I supposed to make Usagi fall for me if she didn't trust me? And since when had she become so suspicious of everyone? Maybe Motoki was right and she really had changed. I frowned to myself, wondering how to deal with this new development. To my right, Usagi shifted uncomfortably, the expression on her face mirroring my own.

"Mamoru," she said at last, "I'm going to go to sleep, and when I wake up, I want the aliens that have taken over your brain to be gone."

"There are no aliens," I told her.

"Yeah right," she scoffed, trying to make herself comfortable on the cold, hard floor.

I opened my mouth to protest and then thought better of it. No point in getting into another argument, especially one that she was most likely to win.

What had happened to Odango Atama to make her change so much?

I watched her out of the corner of my eyes as she yawned, continuously shifting into different positions on the floor. She didn't look any different…well, maybe just a little. She was taller, that was for sure. Not a lot taller, but a couple of inches. I remembered that when we first met, she barely came up to my shoulder, but now, she reached my chin, when she wasn't slouching. And she did slouch, I realized. It was almost as if she was trying to make herself look smaller…but why would she do that? Was she really so uncomfortable with her growth spurt? Or was she hiding from something?

I shook my head. So she was taller…okay…and her hair was longer, and she was a little curvier, but other than that, she hadn't really changed appearance-wise.

**(Beep)(Beep)(Beep)(Beep)(Beep)(Beep)**

Startled, I jumped. What the hell was making that irritable noise? I looked around and saw Usagi's jacket on the floor. There was something flashing inside one of the pockets. Maybe Usagi had a beeper with her, or even better, a cell phone. _Only one way to find out_, I decided. I reached into her pocket and found a..._pink calculator?_ Yet, instead of numbers, the contraption had four signs. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that these were the symbols of Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter. I took a look at the screen and realized that it too was bigger than a normal calculator's should be.

After examining it for another few minutes, I realized exactly what it was. I had often passed stores and seen devices similar to this in them. They were almost exact replicas of the Sailor Senshi's communicators (although they worked over smaller distances) and were sold in packs of five, to be distributed among your friends, I supposed.

There was also a button that had a picture of a megaphone on it. I pressed it, hoping it would turn the stupid thing off. In retrospect, I suppose that was not the brightest of ideas.

As soon as I did, however, the screen flashed, and a hazy figure appeared.

"Finally! It's about time you answered!" exclaimed a voice that sounded oddly familiar. "I've been trying to contact you for the past ten minutes. Listen, we're in trou—oi shit!" With that, the screen went black.

I swore. Signals had a tendency not to reach storage closets, so this person must have been somewhere nearby. Now we'd be stuck in here for Kami knows how long. I tried pressing the buttons, hoping to get the person who had called earlier, but without any luck. Rolling my eyes, I threw the device at the jacket. Trust Odango to be carrying a walkie talkie and not mention it. On the other hand, fat lot of good it did us, anyway.

I decided to go back to my earlier ponderings:

As for personality-wise…well Usagi still went to the Arcade on a regular basis, and she was still a klutz and a bit of a flake…but was she really? I found myself wondering about this. When she had jerked her hand out of my grasp earlier, she had displayed strength I hadn't expected her to have. And when she had refused my 'dinner and a movie' offer, I had looked into her eyes and seen something that surprised me. It wasn't the suspicion, because in case you were wondering, yes that was there too…but it was the look of someone who had seen too much for her years, who knew much more than she should have. What had happened to the Usagi that didn't have a care in the world? The girl who used to live for shopping and milkshakes?

Stifling a yawn, I resolved to find out. With that thought, I followed Usagi's example and drifted off to sleep.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino Usagi-**

-(X)-

_I was in a field full of bunnies wearing Sailor fukus. I burst out laughing as I saw the four bunnies that represented my fellow Senshi. Ami's bunny had a big head, and Minako's was really skinny. It was Rei's and Makoto's however, that amused me the most. Makoto's bunny was fat with lots of muscle. Not like Makoto at all...except for the muscle part. Rei's bunny was fat too, but it also had two really big, floppy ears and a big mouth._

_I looked around and frowned. Not only were bunnies wearing Ami's, Rei's, Makoto's, and Minako's fukus there, but so were others. I saw two in really dark fukus, so dark they looked almost black. One was a dark green, while the other was a dark violet. There was also a bunny in a navy blue uniform and one in an aqua one. I turned around and saw two bunnies smaller than the others. One was the bigger of the two, and both were wearing pink uniforms. I wondered which Senshi, if any, these bunnies represented. Suddenly, the oldest bunny in pink walked up to me. She had scarlet eyes and pink pigtails that looked way too much like mine. I was about to compliment her on stealing my hairdo when she opened her mouth and said very clearly,_

_"Usagi-baka," Eeek! Freaky! She sounded like me too. "Usagi-baka! Wake up! Wake up, NOW!" the bunny half-shouted at me. I really had no choice but to obey._

-(X)-

"Finally! It's about time you answered!" exclaimed Makoto. "I've been trying to contact you for the past ten minutes. Listen, we're in trou—oi shit!" I swore softly. How the hell did Mamoru get a hold of my communicator? Stupid prat must have heard it ring and gone through my jacket pockets. Apparently the concept of personal property meant nothing to him. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Careful not to open my eyes too much, I risked a peek at him. He was staring at the ceiling, his eyes closing occasionally as if he was drifting off to sleep. I mentally willed him to hurry it up. He stifled a yawn and inhaled deeply, his eyes closing fully. I opened my eyes but decided not to risk moving just yet.

A loud noise resonated through the small closet, startling me and making me gasp. I looked around, trying to figure out what had caused it and hoping that Mamoru was a really heavy sleeper, otherwise, the Senshi would have to handle this one on their own. The noise sounded again, and I glanced at Mamoru to see if he was still asleep. It took me about two seconds to realize that the sound was coming from him—yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen: Chiba Mamoru was snoring. Loudly. I giggled quietly. At least now I had a juicy bit of blackmail for those moments that only occurred about once in the average person's lifetime but seemed to pile up in mine like snow in December.

Still grinning, I picked up my jacket and stuffed the communicator back in my pocket. Then, I removed my brooch from another, hidden pocket in the jacket and held it up.

"_Moon crystal power, make up_!" I whispered. Two minutes, a lot of ribbons, and a bunch of pretty-colored lights later, I was Sailor Moon, champion of justice, defender of the innocent…and is anyone but me aware of how corny that sounds? I rolled my eyes.

Mamoru stirred in his sleep. Shit. I hoped he wasn't the sort to wake up when the place he was sleeping in was unusually illuminated.

"_Moon tiara action_!" Another whisper and a bunch of complicated moves, and the door was reduced to splinters. I lost no time in getting the hell out of there, because let's face it: after five hours in that tiny-ass closet, I was feeling just a tad claustrophobic, and really, wouldn't you be, too? Oh, and my friends were in trouble…so yeah…

Another toss of my tiara got rid of the front door, and I was free! The first thing I heard when I got outside was screaming. The first thing I saw was people running towards me, away from, you guessed it, the park. So I did the only logical thing…well, logical to _me_, anyway. I jumped twenty feet into the air, landed on a rooftop and began making my way towards the area of danger. A year ago, I would have been elbowing past the mob of people coming towards me, but I wasn't fourteen anymore, and although I was still deathly afraid of heights, saving innocents came before trying not to die of fright.

Please don't ask me why there were people at the park this late on a Friday night. I have no idea—maybe there was some sort of special gathering. I had long stopped keeping up with those, instead giving the job up to Mina simply because she'd offered to take it. Several times, I'd wondered whether or not I'd done the right thing, and now I knew I hadn't. Knowing where all the big gatherings were let Mina know where the Dark Kingdom was going to strike next. While I had no doubt that Mina was a more-than-capable Senshi, she sometimes forgot to let the rest of us know when we might be needed and to me, as the leader, that information was crucial.

You may be wondering why I didn't feel at all guilty about wrecking the Arcade, and the answer to that is quite simple. Sailor Senshi have money left over from the time of the Silver Millenium. A lot of money; and I intended to leave Motoki a note blaming the damage on us and saying that Sailor Moon would pay for it.

Louder screams told me I was getting close, and I put on an extra burst of speed, completely ignoring the breathtaking view of the city at night from the high rooftops. This wasn't the first time I'd seen it, and if I was lucky, it wouldn't be the last either.

By this time, I was nearly on top of the battle, and what I saw made me forget the butterflies that always appeared in my stomach when I looked down from a very high place. It wasn't one youma that my Senshi were fighting—it wasn't even two. There were three of the damned things, and outcome of the fight was favoring them over us. Shit.

Taking a deep breath, I jumped down into the fray.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
10:40pm; Closet-**

-(X)-

_"The ginzuishou, Endymion, please, you have to find it, for me—for _us_. Find it, and you will free me."_

_"I don't even know where to start."_

_She was there again, in my dreams, the beautiful princess with the long, blonde hair, whose face was forever in the shadows, and whose voice was always full of sorrow. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept without dreaming of her._

_"Yes, you do. Look inside yourself, and you will remember what you think you've forgotten."_

_"I can't remember," I told her, my voice becoming increasingly frustrated. _

_"Yes, you can!" she insisted. "Look deep, and you will find what you are searching for. Remember the battle—remember where the crystal went."_

_I opened my mouth to reply._

_"Don't tell me you can't, Endymion—Mamoru. I know you better than anyone, and I know that you are fooling yourself."_

_"Then why don't you know where the crystal is? Does the Dark Kingdom have it?"_

_"I do know where the crystal is, but there are rules that prevent me from telling you. You must find out for yourself."_

_"Can't you help me at all?"_

_A sad smile graced her features and for a minute, I thought she was going to disappear altogether, as she so often did, but this time, it seemed she wasn't finished quite yet. _

_"I can only tell you that you are looking in the wrong place. You will not find the ginzuishou within the Dark Kingdom, but rather within the person who you least expect to have so great a treasure."_

_"The crystal's inside someone?" I asked, confused. "How is that even possible?" _

_But she just smiled that sad smile and didn't say anything else that was even remotely helpful. "It is time for you to wake up, Earth Prince. Your services are needed." _

_With that, everything went black._

-(X)-

Slowly, I became aware of a cold breeze around me. At first, I thought I had left the window open, then I opened my eyes, and saw where I was.

_What the hell?_ was the first thought that came to mind. I was looking at a bumpy ceiling covered in cracks and painted a very pleasant shade of beige (can you hear the sarcasm?). A single light bulb hung from it, casting eerie shadows onto the walls, which were painted with the same care and color as the ceiling. _How the hell did I get in here? _The only possible explanation I could think of was that I'd been knocked unconscious and then kidnapped…ok, so I was a little out of it, but really, wouldn't you be if you woke up in a closet?

When it all came back to me, about a minute later, I felt a little silly. Talk about your overactive imagination. Groaning softly, I sat up and tried to find the source of the breeze. Needless to say, when I did, I cursed all that was Tsukino Usagi. The door had been reduced to a small pile of wood, and my fellow closet prisoner was nowhere to be found. Of course expecting her to wake me if she found a way out was probably asking too much considering how she felt about me, so I don't even know why I bothered. I'd probably lose the fifty five hundred yen too, 'cuz you know—I'm lucky that way.

Too busy with the self-pitying, I didn't realize why I kept moving towards the door until a few minutes had passed.

"Aw, crap," I muttered when I became aware of the fact that Sailor Moon needed my help. Well, actually, she might not have needed my help at all, but she _had_ henshined, and she obviously hadn't done it for nothing. Letting the bond we shared lead me to where she was, I quickly henshined and made my way to the park.

Please don't ask me why the Dark Kingdom constantly attacks that particular park here in Tokyo. I suppose there is the whole good-always-triumphs-over-evil thing, but really, this is ridiculous. The fact is, the Senshi obviously live in Tokyo, Japan, so what villain in their right mind would send his/her minions to the place where the superheroes live? I mean, seriously, now. Japan isn't the only country in the world, and Tokyo isn't the only city in Japan. I would say that our villains are dumber than dirt, but, it's not like the Senshi defeat them very easily, so what the hell does that say about them?

I shook my head to get rid of the incriminating thoughts before I reached the park. The Senshi's powers had been growing lately, and Kami help me if one of the girls developed mind-reading abilities. I had an unpleasant vision of the angry soldiers ganging up on me. _Ouch_, I thought, wincing.

Shaking my head once again, I distracted myself with trying to figure out what Princess Serenity had meant when she told me to remember the battle…No, I'm not a complete idiot, I knew what she _meant_, I just wasn't sure which part she wanted me to remember.

Basically, what had happened was that Zoisite challenged me to a fight at the top of the Starlight Tower, in which we would both put up our nijizuishous. The only problem was that Sailor Moon intercepted me just before I reached the Tower, insisting that she go with me because I had been hurt. I told her to go home, but she kept following me until we both got caught up in a strange force field and were carried to the Tower. I remembered seeing Ziosite, and Kunzite taking all the nijizuishous, and the elevator ride up, which had been a trap just like everything else.

The battle, however, was hazy in my mind. The only details that I really remembered were that Zoisite was a formidable opponent and also a treacherous one. He'd definitely sent a very sharp object through my shoulder in hopes of killing me at one point, but everything else is a blur, most likely as a result of the blood loss. I vaguely remembered the other Senshi showing up and fighting, and then a bright light and the princess was there, healing me, then darkness, and after that, waking up with Sailor Moon's cerulean eyes looking down at me, asking if I was all right, and if I remembered what happened.

So according to the princess, the clue to what happened to the ginzuishou was somewhere in that battle, I just had to muddle through the fog and really remember the events. But how did _she_ know _that_? Was it possible that she had been there? I'd always thought that her healing me had been a mirage of sorts induced by the blood loss. So if she was there, the Senshi must have seen her too, so why didn't Sailor Moon mention her during her recount of the battle? Maybe she knew who the princess was and where the ginzuishou was but didn't trust me with the information because she thought I had selfish motives for wanting it.

_That must be it_, I decided. One of the Senshi is Princess Serenity.

Before I could continue with that train of thought, a bloodcurdling scream snapped me out of my reverie. I had reached the park just in time to see all five Senshi battling the youma, who seemed to be immune to many of their powers. Two piles of dust lay at the monster's feet, making me wonder if there had been more than one. All of the Senshi had been hurt and were bleeding from various wounds on their bodies. Sailor Mars' arm hung limply at her side, obviously broken. Sailor Jupiter was dragging her leg, wincing every time she landed on it. I deduced she had a sprained or a broken ankle. Sailor Venus, the newest of the group was unconscious on the ground near a Sakura tree, one black and one white cat standing guard over her. By the trail of blood on the trunk, I guessed that she had been thrown at it. Sailor Mercury had a deep gash on her leg, and Sailor Moon's outfit was torn where one of the beast's swords had sliced at her back and abdomen. It also looked like she had torn off a piece herself to clumsily bandage a deep cut on her left arm.

The Senshi were losing. Badly.

_TBC_

**A/N #2: If anybody didn't find Usagi's second dream funny, imagine the Sailor Senshi as bunnies! Re: Change in details: I've seen the series countless times. Any changes were intentional and important to the plot. The fic IS slightly AU, as I said in the beginning. Most first love fics are. If you don't like it, tough cookies.**

**Remember, if you want me to let you know when I update, say so in your review and make sure I can find your e-mail address. If you don't want to bother with that, just check the box that says **Add author to my Author Alert list **or** Add story to my Story Alert list . **In order to take advantage of either, you'll have to actually leave a review. :HINT HINT:**

**_/It has been said that the primary function of schools is to impart enough facts to make children stop asking questions. Some, with whom the schools do not succeed, become scientists./_** -_Knut Schmidt-Nielson_


	4. IV: Fight and Aftermath

**Disclaimer: Right, don't own it, don't sue.**

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Four  
**—_Fight and Aftermath—_

**-Tsukino Usagi-**

I dropped into a crouch as the last of the youma swung its sword, avoiding losing my head by mere inches. Taking advantage of the youma's confusion, I took a deep breath and then lashed out at its feet with my scepter, hoping to catch it off guard. I did, and it stumbled back, bewildered, looking around for its attacker. To my right, Ami cried out in pain. As it had moved, the youma had waved its sword carelessly and cut a deep gash into her leg. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a spot of white—the bone. I resisted the urge to vomit.

We had realized early on in the battle that while the youma were not getting any smarter, Kunzite most certainly was. Not only was he sending multiple youma to collect energy for the Dark Kingdom, but the youma he was sending seemed to be affected by physical attacks rather than those made up of magical energy. That eliminated everyone but Mina and me, and even our most primitive weapons (her _Love Me Chain_ and my tiara) had little effect because of the energy that drove them.

All things considered, we'd fared relatively well against the first two, using an offensive tactic we had termed "distract and attack", but the last of the monsters had proved remarkably stubborn, and let's face it, we weren't exactly at the top of our game. You see, the "distract and attack" had a few minor disadvantages, such as the fact that those who did the distracting often got hurt. As a result, Rei was sporting a broken arm and Makoto, a broken ankle. It was possible, of course, that it was simply sprained, but that would have meant that Lady Luck was on our side, and gee, call me a pessimist, but that seemed rather unlikely given recent events. Ami, who had been working on hindering the youma with her _Shabon_ _Spray_, had been suffering only from shallow cuts up until that point.

Mina, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky. A few minutes ago, the youma had finally figured out how to successfully stop the chain from contacting with its body. It had tried dodging, and it had tried growling at it, and finally, it grabbed the chain seconds before it made contact with its scaly exterior for the umpteenth time and pulled. Hard. Mina, who had been holding the weapon, was yanked of her feet and hit the trunk of a very thick and sturdy-looking tree. She was unconscious, and I couldn't even begin to guess the full extent of her injuries.

Like Ami, and unlike Mina, Rei, or Makoto, I was, so far, mostly unscathed. Of course when I say mostly unscathed, I don't mean what one would normally call mostly unscathed. See, when one deals with unearthly monsters everyday, one's definition of unscathed tends to become somewhat skewed. I mean, sure, I could barely move my left arm, was covered in small cuts, and had probably lost more blood than the average person did in their lifetime, but I wasn't dying, and I wasn't missing any major body parts, so I was mostly unscathed.

There was a loud _whoosh,_ and something very sharp and pointy connected with my side. Okay, I thought, vaguely aware that I was screaming bloody murder, I was no longer mostly unscathed. As much as I hated to admit it, we were losing. Badly.

"Sailor Moon, get down!" Without thinking, I dropped to my stomach and rolled left, towards the sound of the voice (and hopefully to safety), ignoring the sharp pain in my side. To my right, the youma's sword connected with the ground. I didn't doubt that if I'd moved even a split second later than I had, I would no longer be breathing. Maybe Lady Luck was on our side after all, I thought, rolling to my feet while the youma tried, without success, to pull its sword out of the ground.

Wait a second. I closed my eyes and opened them again. No, it was still there—a very ugly looking creature, pulling without avail at a sharp piece of metal and paying absolutely no attention to us Senshi.

Perfect, I thought, smiling ruthlessly. I gathered the remainder of my energy and pulled my very battered-looking tiara off my head.

"_Moon tiara action_!" I hissed, flinging it almost carelessly at the monster. With a bright flash of light and a deafening scream, the youma turned to dust.

Wincing, I pulled myself to my feet and staggered over to where Mina was lying. Tuxedo Kamen was already there, checking her pulse. He looked up as I approached.

"You look like you need a band aid." I glared at him.

"You try fighting three youma at the same time and then we'll talk."

He nodded in reply. "I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier, Sailor Moon."

I shrugged. "It isn't your duty to protect me—you've made that clear on several occasions. Nonetheless, I am grateful that you were here today. If you weren't, I probably wouldn't be alive, let alone mouthing off to you."

His lips quirked and for a minute, I thought he would smile, yet he didn't. "You need to get her to a hospital," he told me, nodding his head towards Mina.

'_Thank you Mr. Obvious,' _Serenity murmured in my head, trying to disguise the fact that even she was worried.

"We all need to get to a hospital," Rei pointed out. She and Ami and Makoto had walked over while I had been talking. Or rather, she and Ami had walked over. Mako had hobbled over, Ami and Rei supporting her on either side.

"I'll call an ambulance," Tuxedo Kamen stated.

I opened my mouth to protest, but he spoke before I had a chance to say anything.

"You can't carry Sailor Venus, and you don't have enough energy to teleport. There's nothing else you can do."

"He's right," Ami put in. She flicked her wrist, and a piece of paper appeared seemingly out thin air. "Call this number," she instructed, holding out her hand. "Ask for Mizuno-san. Tell her the Senshi are hurt in the park, and that they need her help."

When he had gone to find a payphone, I turned to Ami.

"You told her, then?"

She nodded. "I was afraid that one day, we'd be hurt so badly my medical knowledge alone would be of no help, and I figured it was about time she knew the truth."

I nodded, sitting back against the tree trunk. "You did the right thing."

Soon after, Tuxedo Kamen returned, and we waited together, silence reigning among us, for the next few minutes. Now, if you want to get technical, we should have been waiting for a half an hour, considering how far Ami lived from the park, but Mizuno-san could be a frightening woman when she wanted to be, and no matter how withdrawn she seemed at times, she loved her daughter and was willing to break more than a few traffic laws to help her.

Mizuno-san's dark green van skidded to a stop in front of us five minutes after Tuxedo Kamen had made the call, throwing sparks across the paved walkway. Even before the van had come to a full stop, Mizuno-san, clad in a black sweat suit, jumped out, a dark green bag slung casually over one shoulder. Her icy blue eyes, a shade colder than her daughter's, flitted over us, as she surveyed the damage. Once she had decided who looked like they were badly hurt, and who was actually badly hurt, she immediately took charge of the situation.

"Broken bones on my right, cuts and gashes on my left," she said commandingly, kneeling down next to Mina and checking her pulse. Uninjured, Tuxedo Kamen didn't move. Mizuno-san noticed. "You there, with the top hat, make yourself useful!" she snapped. "There's a stretcher in the back of my car. Trunk's open."

Tuxedo Kamen nodded and headed toward the vehicle.

"She hasn't been moved," Ami stated before Mizuno-san could ask.

Mizuno-san nodded and continued checking Mina over. I'd attempt to describe the scene in more detail, but unfortunately, my knowledge of medical instruments was very much lacking.

Tuxedo Kamen returned with the stretcher just as Mizuno-san had managed to determine that Mina had a bad concussion and several broken ribs. Ami had taken Mako and Rei over to the side and was setting their broken bones. Her injuries had been mostly small and like mine, had already started to heal. Yes, Senshi healed faster and more effectively than humans. That's the only way we were able to be badly injured one day and still be well enough the next to fight another youma.

Still, despite our wonderful tendency to escape fatal injuries, I no longer had feeling in my left arm, and my side was still oozing blood. A sort of calm haze settled over me, and the things around me began to lose clarity. The world blurred, and a small voice in the back of my head screamed that something was wrong, that I should be doing something, but the part of me that welcomed the dulling of the pain told me to ignore the annoying thing.

I felt my knees buckle, and I swayed forward, only vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms going around my waist to steady me.

Mizuno-san had turned towards me and was saying something that I could not make out. I blinked repeatedly, trying to find something solid to focus on. There was nothing. Everything was slowly slipping away…and then the world went black.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru- **

I helped Mizuno-san gently lower Sailor Venus onto the unfolded stretcher and turned away as she began to bind her ribs. Sailor Mercury was tending to Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars, and Sailor Moon was standing a few feet away, looking off into the distance. Her eyes looked somewhat glazed, and she no longer looked like the calm, emotionless soldier I had seen fighting the youma. It seemed as if a battle was raging inside of her. A quiet battle, but a fierce one, nonetheless. Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she lurched forward. I lunged towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist before she could hit the ground. Her skin was unusually clammy, and her normally-white suit was soaked with thick, dark red liquid. Neither was a good sign.

"Erm…excuse me, Mizuno-san, I think Sailor Moon needs help," I said, gently lowering her onto the soft grass.

In reply, Mizuno-san rummaged in her bag for a few seconds and then threw a small box to me. I caught it effortlessly and opened it. Inside was a bottle of antiseptic, some cotton balls, a spool of thread, and a frighteningly large needle. I stared at her. Surely she didn't want me to…

"Clean the wound, and then sew it up," she commanded.

"But—" I protested feebly.

"If you can swing from a lamppost like an orangutan and still keep that monstrosity from falling off your head, then I'm sure you can manage something as simple as sticking a needle into somebody's side and then pulling it out again."

"Wh-what if it comes out crooked?" I asked, aware that it was one of the stupidest things ever to come out of my mouth.

"I'm sure she'll get over it," Mizuno-san snapped, her voice laced with annoyance and distaste.

I inhaled deeply and picked up the bottle of antiseptic. Might as well get this over with.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino Usagi-**

Sometimes, I pretend that I am a calm person. Whether it is to fool an enemy or because I'm bored and want to see how long I'll last, all I'm doing is pretending. I am not a calm person. I have never been a calm person. That's why I think I can be forgiven for not acting particularly calm when I woke up to find Tuxedo Kamen leaning over me and a large needle sticking out of my side.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snarled.

He glanced up at me, looking just a little bit panicked. Mizuno-san, who had been standing near him, explained.

"You had lost a lot of blood and needed stitches immediately. I was tending to Sailor Venus and couldn't help, so I asked Tuxedo Kamen to do it. He graciously agreed."

I stared at her. "But he has absolutely no medical training!"

Mizuno-san gave me a tired smile. "Actually, he's studying to be a doctor. He's taken numerous biology classes and regularly volunteers at the hospital." I had an awful feeling that she hadn't known this when she ordered him to give me stitches. "And besides," she added, "he's doing quite well, despite his inherent fear of needles."

"He's scared of needles," I hissed, "and you let him _stick one in my side_?" Mizuno-san shrugged. Tuxedo Kamen chose that moment to pull said needle out. "Ow!" I yelped and proceeded to give him my best death glare.

"Sorry," he grunted, cutting the thread and moving away, for fear I'd attack him.

I glanced at the wound. The stitches were crooked despite the fact that the wound had been perfectly straight. I wisely decided not to comment.

"How's M—Venus?" I enquired, catching myself before I could say something that would need explaining.

"I'm okay," said a voice from behind me.

I propped myself up on the elbow of my uninjured arm to make sure for myself. Sailor Venus was sitting back against the trunk of the same tree she had been thrown at, and besides looking very tired, with a few small cuts and bruises, she seemed to be fine. I frowned. Something wasn't right here. Mina had been thrown against a tree, while I had simply fainted from loss of blood. Why had I been out for so long?

"You didn't, by any chance stick me with something besides that needle, did you?" I looked at Tuxedo Kamen questioningly.

"You required stitches in your left arm and your side. Mizuno-san asked me to inject you with an anesthetic to numb the pain and slow the blood flow."

I tried to flex the arm in question. It didn't move. I looked up at him. "Did you, by any chance, overdose?"

He licked his lips nervously. "Maybe."

I rolled my eyes and thanked Kami I was still alive.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino  
Saturday Morning (11:15am); Tsukino Residence-**

Saturday morning dawned bright and early, as usual, but fortunately, I wasn't awake to witness it. In fact, I was not aware of the existence of the beautiful day until about five hours after the sun rose although, had it been up to me, I would have remained blissfully unaware for a much longer period of time. It was not up to me however, as Luna had long ago decided that a good way to amuse herself was to wake me up at odd hours of the morning everyday and wait for a reaction. Today, she did this by throwing Shingo's pet snake at my head. Needless to say, I wasn't particularly pleased.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…get it off get it off get it off get it off!" were what the words coming out of my mouth sounded like as I jumped out of bed, tripped over my bunny slippers, and unceremoniously landed on the floor. I paused a minute to get my bearings and decide which way was up and righted myself into a more natural position. Yawning, I got up, slipped on the bunny slippers I had tripped over, and silently padded over to my bed.

There it was. Smack dab in the middle of my pillow—a small, spotted serpent, otherwise known as Jin, the ball python. With as much dignity as I could muster, I picked him up and deposited him in Shingo's room on my way to the shower. Unfortunately, I never got that far.

**(Ring)(Ring)(Ring)(Ring)(Ring)(Ring)**

More than a little annoyed, I pulled my hand away from the bathroom doorknob and turned back towards my room, where I had deposited the cordless phone the night before.

Despite the fact that it had been covered by a pile of clothing, the ring sounded loud and clear for the few seconds that it took me to find the irritating contraption.

"Moshi moshi?" I said, clearing my throat a couple of times to get rid of the hoarseness I had given myself five minutes before.

"How are you? Is everything okay? I didn't wake you, did I? You usually get up later than this, but I was worried sick. How was school yesterday? Did you get detention again? Did you do your homework? Did you get home from school safe? What did you have for dinner…you didn't try to cook, did you?"

As the questions went on, I rattled my brain for the name of the person I could be talking to. After a minute, it finally came to me. "Fine, yes, no, fine, no, yes, yes, leftovers. Oh, and _Ohayo Gozaimasu_, by the way."

"Gomen, sweetie, but you know how I worry. You've never been left alone for more than a few hours before."

"I know, Mama." And I really did know, no matter how oblivious I sometimes seemed.

"Where were you yesterday, Usagi? I tried calling at seven and later around midnight, but you weren't home."

"I was studying with the girls, and we lost track of time. Mizuno-san gave me a ride home so I wouldn't have to walk alone that late at night," I said quickly. Technically, I wasn't even lying. I _had_ been studying with the girls…it just wasn't the kind of studying my mother expected I'd meant…and Mizuno-san had given us all a ride home afterwards. So not only did I have a plausible excuse, but I also had someone to vouch for me in case my mother got suspicious. I decided to keep this new development in mind and mention it to Ami the next time I saw her.

"Oh that's wonderful. I'll call Mizuno-san later and thank her. What are your plans for today?"

I shrugged and then remembered that she couldn't see me. "I'm not sure yet. I think the girls and I will get together and maybe go shopping or see a movie or something of the sort. Afterwards we have that sleepover at the temple that I told you about on Thursday. I'll probably be home sometime Sunday afternoon."

"That sounds good, hun."

"Okay, great. I'll see you Sunday, then. Say hi to Papa and Shingo-baka for me."

"All right, ja."

"Sayonara, Mama."

I hung up the phone and turned back to the task at hand; getting myself to look presentable in the next hour. This time, I got as far as the actual bathtub before Luna sauntered in with my communicator in her mouth. It was beeping. Rolling my eyes, I tugged the communicator away and turned it on.

"Ohayo, Usagi!" a cheerful voice called from the small screen.

"Mina?" I asked, wondering just how much coffee she'd had that morning. "How are you feeling?"

"Great. Mako just called me. We're organizing a shopping spree. You're in, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, still a little startled. Mina's ability to remain ever-cheerful never failed to amaze me. I mean, the girl had been thrown at a tree, for Kami's sake. She should have at least been grumbling.

"Okay, awesome! I'll call Ami, and Mako's already agreed to call Rei. We'll swing by your house around one, 'kay?"

"Sure." We said our good-byes and signed off, leaving me to my shower. I would have preferred a bubble bath, but I knew from experience that those were better left for evenings, when one didn't have to worry about falling asleep afterwards.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, forty-five minutes later, I actually resembled a human being (regardless of the fact that my hair was arranged in its usual style). I had picked out a white, bohemian, linen skirt and matched it with a sequined, calypso print, crossover V-neck top, and chocolate-colored sandals. It felt nice to be wearing something besides my school uniform.

I checked my watch. Perfect. It was twelve-thirty. Just enough time for me to fix myself a bowl of cereal and get some reading done for my Literature class.

I was just finishing my tea and the second chapter of Of Mice and Men, when the doorbell rang. I jumped up, dropped the book into my purse, grabbed my keys, and flew out of the house.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino Usagi  
1:10pm; Tokyo-**

"So then Hikaru comes by to pick me up and sees Rokuro helping my dad in the garden. And he's home from university this month, so he's been hanging about the house a lot, and I guess Hikaru got the wrong idea because he glares at him and says, 'Don't you have any other houses to fix?' And I give him this look, like, what the hell's the matter with you? And he looks at me and tells me quite clearly that he doesn't think Rokuro's intentions towards me are 'pure'."

"But Mina," Ami reasoned, "Rokuro is your brother."

"Yeah. Someone should tell Hikaru," Mina replied, laughing.

"I can't believe he didn't realize it," Makoto laughed. "You two could be twins."

"Yeah, I think you've got to stop picking up guys in video game parlors," I added.

"Oh, you should talk," Rei told me. "You've had a crush on Motoki for how long?"

"Oh please, I am so over him." I waved my hand carelessly. "Motoki and I are just friends. And besides, he has a girlfriend. I respect that."

"Speaking of Motoki, does anybody want to swing by the Crown on our way to the mall and say hello?" Makoto suggested before Rei had a chance to comment.

"We can't," Mina reminded her, "the Arcade's closed this weekend, remember? Motoki's in the mountains, with his parents."

"If he's in the mountains, then who's that standing in front of the Arcade?" Rei asked. I looked in the direction she was pointing, and sure enough, there was a tall, blonde-haired man standing in front of the entrance to the Arcade. The same entrance, by the way, that I had demolished on my way out, the night before.

"And what happened to the door?" murmured Mina.

"It looks like someone broke in," said Ami, taking in the wreckage.

"Come on, let's go see what's up," I suggested, not yet ready to confess that I was responsible for the damage.

"Konnichiwa, Motoki," Makoto called, once we were within earshot. Motoki turned and looked at her dazedly.

"Konnichiwa, minna," Motoki said, deciding it was easier to generalize than address each one of us in person. Then he saw me. "Usagi! What happened here? How did you get out?"

"Oh…that…" I laughed nervously. "That's a funny story, that is." I was painfully aware of the confused looks my friends were giving me.

He raised an eyebrow, silently urging me to continue.

"You see, Mamoru-baka and I were calling for help for quite a long time, and there was a youma attack here last night so on their way to the park, the Senshi were passing by the Arcade, and they heard us screaming and thought someone was in trouble."

"The Arcade's soundproof, Usagi."

"Yeah, it is, but with all those superpowers, is it any surprise that the Senshi can hear better than the rest of us?"

"Right, okay, so you expect me to believe that the Sailor Senshi demolished my door?"

I nodded eagerly. "Sailor Moon left you a note and a check for the damages." I reached into my purse and pulled out said items. "See?" I said, holding them out to him.

Motoki stared at them for a minute, and then looked up. "Uh-huh…so…what happened to Mamoru?"

"Oh, he was asleep when I left, and I really saw no reason to wake him…so—"

"—she left me there. Awful nice of her, don't you agree?" said a voice from behind me. I spun around and came face to face with a very ugly green jacket. I grimaced and stepped back.

"You deserved it, you fashion disaster," I told him as-a-matter-of-factly and very maturely stuck my tongue out. Mamoru rolled his eyes and then reached over and clapped Motoki on the back.

"How was your trip, mate?" he asked, grinning.

Motoki stared at the two of us incredulously, looking as if he was doing some very quick thinking. "Hold on," he said. "I thought you said that the two of you were calling for help. If that's true, then how come Mamoru was asleep?"

"We were calling for help," Mamoru confirmed. "But that was during the first five minutes or so. For the rest of the time, we were," he paused, licking his lips and raising his eyebrows suggestively, "otherwise occupied."

"Yeah, okay, we were playing cards," I snapped, feeling my face heat up.

"Really?" murmured Mamoru. "Huh. I seem to remember there being a conversation in which we both agreed that some very particular actions would have to be performed to _improve_ your mood. But I suppose that was just my imagination. What happened to your arm, by the way?"

"What?" I asked, startled at how quickly he had changed the subject. After getting my brain back on track, I glanced at the arm in question. It looked a hell of a lot better than it had yesterday, something that was probably assisted by the fact that I had removed the stitches from the wound earlier that morning. Still, the cut looked relatively new, and I probably wouldn't be able to brush it off as something I'd gotten from falling down the stairs. I bit my lip and did some very quick thinking. "Oh, um, I tripped on my way out of the Arcade last night and cut myself on a stray piece of glass."

They seemed satisfied with the excuse despite the fact that there was no broken glass in sight.

"Okay, so how was it that you got out?" Motoki asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too, Usagi," Mamoru chimed in.

"Look, I already told you. The Sailor Senshi got us out. I don't know how they knew we were in there. I only know what Sailor Moon told me; they heard us calling for help and decided to check it out."

"Yeah, right," Mamoru muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Why would I lie?" I demanded. "It's not like I broke down the door myself." I looked at him for a minute, an idea forming in my head. "Or maybe you think I did. Maybe you think I'm hiding something. Is that right, Mamoru?"

He gave a half-hearted shrug. "Perhaps."

I threw up my hands in annoyance. "Fine, you're right. You got me. I don't know how you figured it out, but you did, and I suppose now's as good a time as any to confess. I'm Sailor Moon."

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: I realize that Mina didn't get the Love Me Chain until the 'R' season, but as none of the other Senshi had physical-ish attacks, I had to use that one. But I'm sure no one minds, right? And the part where Usa says that Tuxedo Kamen has made it clear it's not his duty to protect her, refers to the episode with them in the elevator shaft. I forget the details, but I'm pretty certain that he tells her the only reason he's helping her is because she keeps the Dark Kingdom away from the crystals, and that when it comes down to it, he'll fight her for them if he has to.**

**As for the medical stuff in this chapter…well, let me just say I did as much research on it as I possibly could and then improvised. Hopefully it at least sounds plausible.**

**Leave a review, and there might be a cyber cookie for you. :)**

_**/Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said./** -coolsig_


	5. V: The Shopping Spree From Hell

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Sailor Moon, American Airlines, the Sharpie marker company, Ringu, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and other items you might recognize from the world around you do not belong to me, so don't sue. But, this story is mine, so don't copy. If you want to use something in my story in your own fic, please make sure you have my permission first.**

**Warning: Some profanity and innuendo in this chapter. Also references to Satanism, vampires, demons, and the occult. Don't read if you know it'll offend you and then complain about it in your review. **

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Five  
**—_The Shopping Spree From Hell—_

**-Tsukino Usagi-**

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little old man, who'd obviously heard my little outburst, hurry away, muttering about teenagers these days and hallucinogens under his breath. I was starting to wonder if Mamoru and Motoki would soon follow suit. They were staring at me as if they couldn't quite figure out what they were looking at, and frankly, I couldn't blame them. After all, it wasn't everyday I said something that made it sound like I was on crack…okay…not everyday I said something that made it sound like I was on crack, LSD, and sniffing glue every chance I got.

Behind me, I sensed my friends shifting nervously, probably wondering if I had taken a particularly hard hit to the head last night. I figured I should hurry it up before Rei decided to take it upon herself to hit me over the head with her shoe, claim that she had slipped, and blame my crazy behavior on my finding Luna's secret stash of catnip.

I folded my arms across my chest and continued to look at Motoki and Mamoru. After a minute of my eyes flitting back and forth between the two, I let my gaze settle on Motoki. Something told me he was easier to manipulate.

'_I'm not a something, I'm a someone,'_ a voice that I had been trying to ignore for the past few minutes snapped inside my head. I groaned mentally. Unfortunately, Serenity didn't take the hint. '_And for the record, someone who hasn't been locked inside a closet with you is much more likely to buy your "innocent" act. Speaking of which, you may want to turn it up. I think the unblinking stare is freaking him out.'_

Sighing inwardly, I uncrossed my arms, relaxed my shoulders, and softened my gaze, opening my eyes wider and inclining my head slightly. Motoki bought it hook, line, and sinker.

His eyes lost their confused quality, and he grinned at me easily. "Cute, Usagi," he commented.

I shrugged playfully, breathing an inaudible sigh of relief. He'd just cancelled the public beheading Rei had undoubtedly been planning.

"Well," I said brightly, "Now that we all agree that I have no reason to lie about last night, you'll have to excuse us, boys. There's a mall downtown calling our names." I turned to go but didn't get farther than a couple of feet.

"Hold on," Mamoru called after me. _Shit_. Reluctantly, I stopped and turned.

"What?" I asked, praying that he wasn't very familiar with the _tell-the-truth-and-hope-it-sounds-so-crazy-that-no-one-believes-you_ technique.

"We'll go with you." I blinked.

"_What_?"

"Motoki and I, we'll go with you, to the mall."

"_Why_?" He shrugged.

"Why not? We've got nothing better to do anyway, right? Motoki's dad is inside with the window guy, checking to make sure nothing's missing—"

"Don't worry," I interrupted him. "Sailor Moon put a force field keyed to the Furuhata family on the Arcade before she left. It would have prevented anyone but them from going inside."

"Good," Motoki murmured. "Thanks, Usagi." I nodded. After all, it wasn't as if I was lying.

Meanwhile, Mamoru continued getting on my nerves. "Even so, the Arcade won't be open until Monday, the earliest, so Motoki's free and Unazuki's birthday is tomorrow, so he's got to get her a birthday present."

"All right, fine, but why are you coming along?" I snapped.

He gave me a lazy grin. "Well, it's Saturday and sadly, since I spent all of Friday night locked in a closet with you, I don't have any plans besides studying physics…which I really don't feel like doing at this moment."

"Then why don't the two of you go _alone_?" I snarled.

"You know what they say, Odango, the more the merrier. Unless of course, you have a good reason for not wanting us to come…" he trailed off, knowing that he'd won.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, picturing myself strangling him as I counted to ten. Meanwhile Ami, always the diplomat, put an end to their suspicions.

"I don't see any reason for you not to join us," she told them.

"Yeah," Mina added cheerfully, "it'll be fun. Hope you can stomach the girl talk though, because we won't be turning it off on your accounts."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll survive," Mamoru said off-handedly.

As Mamoru and Motoki fell into step behind us, I got closer to Makoto, who had been grinning evilly for the last five minutes.

"Get rid of them," I whispered urgently.

Her grin widened as she looked at me. "No."

I groaned and hit my forehead with the palm of my hand.

Beside me, Rei stayed silent, but her face told me that I should expect a tongue-lashing once we got back to the temple.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

"Are you out of your mind?" Motoki hissed.

"Look, with all due respect, mate, you locked me in a closet with her. You owe me one," I replied quietly.

Motoki rolled his eyes. "You know, technically, you could have used that to your advantage."

I glared at him. "If that's what you think, then you've obviously never been locked in a closet with Odango. It is not a situation that can be taken advantage of."

"Of course it can be. Anything around you can be used to your advantage, Mamoru. Unless…" he looked at me suspiciously, "you didn't try anything stupid, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I snapped. "I simply lost control of the direction our little adventure was taking us."

"Really? What happened?"

"I was yelled at, attacked, had my fashion sense and personality insulted, got yelled at some more, and was left to come to my senses on a stone-cold floor."

"Oh, so nothing you didn't deserve, then."

I narrowed my eyes. "You have no idea what she's really like. All you see is this bouncy, clumsy blonde. But I know better. She's dangerous. And she's hiding something."

"Bloody drama queen," Motoki snorted.

I laughed along, but part of me remained uneasy. I had seen plenty of movies where the FBI agent husband tells his wife that he's been working for the government ever since he got out of school and she laughs in his face, only to be kidnapped in the next fifteen minutes and then rescued within an hour or two (depending on how creative the director/producer was).

'_You planning on getting yourself kidnapped, princess?'_

_Ha ha, _I replied and pictured an animated chibi-sized me hitting an animated, equally chibi-sized Endymion over the head with a heavy physics textbook repeatedly, without any qualms at all about the matter. Not surprisingly, that made me feel loads better. I was probably just being silly, anyway. Usagi couldn't possibly be Sailor Moon. That was the end of that.

I was startled out of my reverie by a loud snap only to see a small, pale hand waving in front of my face.

"Hello! Mamoru-baka! Are you coming inside, or are you going to stand at the door all day?" We were standing in front of the sliding, glass, double doors of one of Tokyo's many shopping centers. I looked at Usagi, the owner of the aforementioned hand and grinned.

"I didn't know you cared, darling." She immediately took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl forming on her heart-shaped face.

"Don't flatter yourself, Chiba," she said coldly. "I would have had no problem leaving you here, something you would have realized had you thought back to last night, but lucky for you, Motoki is better than that."

"Ah yes, last night…" I wriggled my eyebrows suggestively. "Leave a lasting impression did it?"

Usagi rolled her eyes and stormed into the mall. Her friends followed, looking puzzled.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Tsukino Usagi-**

My stomach churned, and my breath came in short, rapid gasps as I stared at the mirror with a mixture of fear and confusion. The dark green blouse I had chosen to try on hung slackly about my body, making me seem small and gaunt, and the jeans were so loose that I felt they would fall off if I didn't hold them up with my hand. Trying to calm myself, I unbuttoned the blouse and checked the label. I breathed out a sigh of relief. It was a size larger than what I usually wore.

"Hey you guys," Mako called from the fitting booth next to mine. "Either my boobs are getting bigger or someone has my blouse."

"It's me," I replied, tossing the garment to her. The blouse that I had actually picked out came flying over the side a few seconds later. I reached up to catch it, and the jeans slipped down even further. I wondered if I had mixed up clothes with one of the other girls again or if I had simply taken the wrong size. Impatiently, I pulled them off and checked. I frowned at no one in particular. The jeans were the size I usually bought.

Some companies made the sizes larger than others, I reminded myself and proceeded to try on all the other bottoms that I had taken into the fitting room with me. The only thing that fit was the sweat pants and only because they were on a draw string.

"Hey guys," I called softly, "anybody else having weight problems?"

"What'd you pork out on this time?" Rei asked irritably.

"I don't mean gaining weight. I mean losing it. Really suddenly."

"Well, we've all been more in-shape since we started this whole saving-the-world business," Mina murmured.

"Yes, but I've been doing this for about a year, and I've never lost this much weight before."

"Perhaps you're just stressed," Ami suggested.

"Maybe," I mumbled and changed back to my original outfit.

"Where're you going?" Mako called as I stepped out of the small space.

"I'm going to go put these back," I replied. "I have enough clothes."

I sighed; so much for a worry-free shopping spree. I needed a vacation.

As I neared Motoki and Mamoru, a bit of their conversation reached me.

"That's a brilliant idea," Motoki was saying.

"Ah, yes, thank you. You know, sometimes I amaze even myself," Mamoru replied exaggeratedly.

"That doesn't sound too hard," I commented as Mamoru glared. "What are you two talking about, anyway?"

"Mamoru was just suggesting that I get Unazuki the Three Lights' newest CD and frame it. It's her favorite band."

I nodded distractedly. "Yeah, I've heard a couple of their songs. They're pretty good."

"Sure, for a pop band," Mamoru replied.

"What d'you have against pop?"

He made a face. "It's too sweet."

"Okay, so what kind of music do you listen to?" I was surprised at how undiscriminating I was being.

"Heavy metal, punk," he shrugged.

It was my turn to grimace. "Heavy metal? Isn't that where there's a lot of screaming?"

Motoki grinned and clapped Mamoru on the shoulder. "He's angry."

I laughed, and we continued making nonsensical conversation while we waited for Mina, Mako, Rei, and Ami to finish. Half an hour later, we'd established that the weather was unusually warm, that Mamoru thought my top was too skimpy ("Are you sure you don't want my jacket? You look cold."), that Motoki thought that the aforementioned top looked nice, that university wasn't easy to get into, and that the current prime minister was in fact, a very nice man. I wanted to hit something.

Shopping just wasn't as much fun when you were making small talk with two guys you had almost nothing in common with instead of trying on clothes that you'd never buy with your friends.

Just as I was thinking about what I could possibly do to get myself kicked out of the store by a security guard, the girls found us, their arms laden with shopping bags.

"So where to next?" Ami asked.

"We could—" Mamoru began.

"The food court," I put in firmly and led the way, ignoring the comments about my bottomless pit of a stomach that resonated behind me.

Once we had all ordered and settled ourselves comfortably around a table, Mina had an idea.

"Let's play a game."

"What kind of game?" I asked carefully. I'd had experience with Mina's games before, and they usually resulted in someone's shampoo getting switched with neon green hair dye, or someone admitting that they'd tried to seduce a teacher.

"It's called Acronym Antics, and it's pretty simple. I played it at a party back in England a couple of years ago. Basically, you go around in a circle finding acronyms for four-letter words. For example, I say 'left', then Usagi has to think of a noun for 'L', Ami has to think of a verb for 'E' Motoki has to think of an adjective for 'F' and Mamoru has to think of another noun for 'T'."

"Er…all right," Mamoru murmured, and we began.

I had to hand it to Mina, I decided twenty minutes later, as I laughed along with everyone else at the acronym we had found for "ring" (Robert Ingested Naughty Gophers). It was a silly and pointless game, but it lightened the mood, and I no longer wanted to poke Mamoru in the eye for all the lewd comments he had been making that day.

We had long finished eating and were now picking at Rei's left-over French Fries, which she had coated with ketchup and soy sauce an hour earlier in an effort to keep us away.

"Tarts," I said when my turn came, completing the acronym for "aunts" (Andrew United Naked Tarts). We had been gradually getting louder ever since we got to the food court until you could hear us over the din of the other customers. The waitresses and bus boys had taken to shooting us dirty looks repeatedly over the past thirty minutes, and I had a feeling we'd be getting kicked out soon. Apparently, Rei shared my sentiments on the subject.

She pushed away the soggy French Fries and stood up. "Come on guys, let's go. I want to leave before I get banned from ever coming to this mall again."

We nodded our agreement and followed her to the section of the mall where the pharmacy was located. Mina was out of band-aids, and Mako wanted to refill her medicine cabinet.

If the mall had been crowded before, it was nothing compared to what it was now. People walked about, some in groups of friends, some in couples, holding hands. Many window-shopped; others read advertisements. As we entered the pharmacy, one in particular caught my eye. It was an American Airlines poster that bragged "Breakfast in New York, Lunch in Paris" and scrawled underneath it in what looked like a black Sharpie marker, it proclaimed "Baggage in Hong Kong." I giggled quietly as we walked inside.

Motoki and Mamoru had gone into the music store next door and returned as we were looking for the last item on Makoto's list. Once we got everything, we got in line at the cash register. Yes, that's right. All seven of us got in line at the cash register and had a good time of annoying the hell out of the people around us.

A woman in front of us was talking to her friend about the evils of Harry Potter and how it corrupted young children. In reply, Ami, who I had always been sure had not a mischievous bone in her body responded by talking of our plans for that evening, which apparently involved dressing all in black, putting in fake teeth, popping some pills, and then dancing around a fire starkers while praising Satan.

At the green look on the woman's face, I felt a twinge of sympathy for her, but she managed to disperse it by changing her rant to revolve around teenagers these days and how they went against everything they had ever been taught. She used the Sailor Senshi as an example and called them/us demon-worshipping vigilantes that we could all do without.

"Demon-worshipping vigilantes indeed," I muttered under my breath. "I'd like to see how she'd fare without u-them."

Rei took the more direct approach. She tapped the woman on the shoulder as she was bitching about how short our skirts were and proceeded to very politely tell her that she was a jealous, ungrateful bitch who would have been dead long ago if it hadn't been for the Senshi and that she'd personally make sure that the next time they saw her screaming for help, they wouldn't do a damn thing about it. She was a Shinto priestess. She had connections.

The woman pursed her lips and stormed away to another cash register.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru-**

I have never been fond of the mall. I don't like the crowds or the noise or the dirt. It all annoys the hell out of me and tends to give me a splitting headache. Perhaps that's why I've been wearing the same green jacket for two years. But that's not the point. The point is that surprisingly, up to till now, I had actually been enjoying myself.

I had pushed the doubts about Usagi's proclamation in front of the Arcade to the back of my mind and had tried to flirt. Unsuccessfully. Apparently suggestive comments no longer counted as flirting. I wondered if I was really that out of practice (I couldn't remember the last time I had made an effort to get a date with a girl) or if Usagi was really that stubborn. I hoped that it was the latter.

Still, things seemed to be going better now that I'd stopped trying so hard. Until, that is, a bunch of crazy thirteen-year-olds decided that Minako was Sailor V.

"Oh my gosh!" squealed a raven-haired girl in the classic school-girl outfit. Apparently no one had told her that you didn't have to wear them when school wasn't in session.

"It's Sailor V," yelled annoying thirteen-year-old number two.

"Why aren't you in costume, Sailor V?" asked annoying thirteen-year-old number three.

"See, I told you she'd be here," stated annoying thirteen-year-old number four haughtily.

"I though you lived in London," murmured annoying thirteen-year-old number five.

"She can use magic to go wherever she wants, stupid. Right, Sailor V?" Annoying thirteen-year-old number four.

"Can I have your autograph Sailor V? Can I? Please?" begged annoying thirteen-year-old number three.

Within minutes, the half of the mall was crowding around Minako, and the other half was rushing to get to her. One particularly rude fan pushed Usagi out of the way and into me. Without thinking, I put my arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Let go," she hissed.

"Shh," I whispered, steering her away from the crowd.

"Let go, please."

"Don't get excited."

"Chiba, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."

"Sorry, darling. I haven't got time for anything else," I teased.

She put the palms of her hands on my chest and shoved me away. A girl in a dark blue cap and sun glasses tapped her on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said. Her voice sounded familiar. It was then I noticed the locks of blonde hair beneath the cap and Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Motoki behind her. Apparently, Minako had been mistaken for Sailor V before.

"Where are we going?" Usagi asked.

"Let's go see a movie," Makoto proposed. "No one will recognize Mina in a dark theater." I frowned. She'd almost made it sound as if Minako was Sailor V.

"Which one?" asked Rei.

"How about Ringu? I heard that it was good," Motoki suggested.

"No," the six of us chorused at once.

"Okay." He backed away. "We'll watch something else."

"Something funny," Makoto said decidedly. "I need a laugh."

"I need a vacation," Usagi mumbled tiredly under her breath.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
7:00pm, His Apartment-**

I sat in the chair in front of my computer, my shoulders slightly hunched, my head tilted as I watched the screen fill with letters; letters I was putting there. A clicking of the keyboard resonated through the apartment as my fingers danced over the keys. Every once in a while, I'd stop and consult my text book for reference. I had been working on the paper for about an hour and the whole time, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

'_Yeah, the essay's not due till Monday, and you're wasting your Saturday night writing it.'_

Sure, that was strange in itself, but it wasn't the only thing.

'_Is it Usagi?' _

I nodded in agreement. It was Usagi, but then again, it wasn't. It was everything, and it was nothing. Maybe I was just overreacting, but it seemed as if the people I knew had changed and evolved, and I hadn't noticed it until now.

I remembered the first time I saw Usagi. She had been irritated because she had gotten a particularly low grade on an exam and had crumpled it up and thrown the paper away, only to have it hit me on the head. I'd teased her about that test mercilessly for days…and then she started hanging around with Ami and then, Rei and later, Makoto and finally, Minako.

I remembered my first impressions of her new friends. Ami was a bookworm; always ten chapters ahead in every subject, perfect grades, and extracurricular activities leaking out of her ears. Rei was the flirty, popular girl from the very center of the in-crowd, whose very existence seemed to have been shaken. She and Usagi fought constantly, never agreed on anything, and always found something wrong with the other. Makoto was the girl who mooned endlessly over ex-boyfriends and cute guys and fought for what was right. Minako had been a bouncy, happy girl who seemed to be in love with life and fun and games. A more unlikely group of friends I could never have imagined.

You wouldn't have noticed anything different about them hadn't you watched them like I did at the beginning. Rei had intrigued me then. She had seemed strong and independent and mature (when she wasn't around Usagi), and she and I had even dated a while before we realized that we didn't really have too much to talk about, and that we were better off being friends. But there were differences, no matter how subtle.

Ami, although still studious, no longer seemed like such a wet blanket. I thought back to the trick she had pulled in the mall. The shy, timid Ami of a year ago would have never allowed herself to do that. She had changed.

Rei was still flirty, still popular, and she still fought with Usagi, but the two of them seemed to have found some common ground. They were closer, they seemed to understand each other despite their differences, and Rei seemed to respect Usagi. She had changed.

Makoto, meanwhile, still fought bullies in the streets and still talked about her ex-boyfriends and current boyfriends incessantly, but something was different. She talked about boys less and fought more. I saw her at the gym everyday. She jogged in the mornings. It was as if she was preparing herself for something big, and no one but her knew what it was.

Minako was still cheerful, still Juuban's most respected matchmaker, but she no longer seemed as naïve as she used be. Sometimes I wondered if she had ever truly been naïve, if it hadn't been an act that had dissolved within a couple of months after her arrival. I wasn't sure if she had changed within the time that I knew her, or before, but the point was that not one of them was the same.

They all seemed tired, somehow. Their behavior seemed forced. I had seen it in Usagi Friday night and in the other girls earlier that day. They were hiding something, some part of themselves from the rest of the world, and occasionally their true selves leaked through and left those around them more confused than they had been before.

I wondered what could have possibly brought on such change. A tragedy in the family? I didn't think so. Usagi's words from earlier that day came back to me. Juggling school and normal lives by day and saving the world every night? Much more likely.

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: Hey, I bet everyone thought it would take me another eight months to post the next chapter. . This one only took me about three weeks, although if you want to get technical, six days since I only have time to write on the weekends. I did my best to read it over and edit it, but I don't get along with commas so you might see errors there, and there might be a few typos. **

**Every time you don't leave a review, God kills a ferret. Those of you who are well-versed in other fandoms can go ahead and let me know that you know where I stole that from…in your review. Yes, that's right; that means you have to review. Come on, you know you want to. :P**

_**/And God, I promise... no more sex with anybody... unless they really, really, need it./ **-Rue Macalahan as Blanche, The Golden Girls_


	6. VI: Conspiracies

**Disclaimer:** **This story is mine, so don't copy. If you want to use something in my story in your own fic, please make sure you have my permission first. Sailor Moon & Co. belongs to me too...did you really believe that? If Sailor Moon & Co. belonged to me, don't you think I would have gotten rich off of writing this by now?**

**Warning: More cursing in this chapter. Sorry guys, but Mamoru is quite obviously not a morning person.**

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Six  
**—_Conspiracies—_

**-Tsukino Usagi  
8:00pm; Hikawa Jinga -**

The delicious smell of sushi and dumplings with noodles wafted into the room, making my mouth water. Makoto was cooking. She always cooked when we had sleepovers. Minako was always in charge of movies, and Rei had music, as she was the one with the biggest CD collection. I brought other entertainment, such as manga books, video games, and miscellaneous snacks that could not be prepared in a kitchen, and Ami brought board games and made sure that she had clean alternatives to Mina's pervy ideas. Sometimes though, we went with Mina's ideas anyway. It was good to let loose once in a while, especially when it involved Mamoru with neon pink hair.

Outside, torrents of water ran down the roof. The rain was washing the world clean. Thunder roared in the distance, and occasionally, I saw a flash of lightening through the open door. But it didn't bother me. I know that I've mentioned my dislike of thunder storms once or twice, but the truth is, they're not so bad when you're in a warm, cozy room, surrounded by friends, drinking hot chocolate and laughing so hard that it comes out of your nose. Not that anything of the sort had ever happened. We were princesses after all, even if we hadn't been forced to sit through an etiquette class in over a thousand years.

I was unkindly startled out of my reverie by something small and round connecting with the middle of my forehead. Frowning slightly, I picked up the popcorn kernel off my lap and chucked it back at Rei. She caught it easily.

"If you're not reading, you could at least let someone else have a turn," she pointed out.

I looked at the manga book in my lap curiously. I hadn't gotten past the first page in the last half an hour and no longer remembered what the story was supposed to be about.

"Hello? Earth to Odango!" Rei snapped her fingers in front of my face, prompting an annoyed eye roll from me. I handed her the graphic novel in question and stood up to change the channel. Mina had yet to arrive because she had promised to check in with her parents before the sleepover, and we were sadly deprived of visual entertainment. Rei did have some old videos, but we'd all seen them so many times we had taken to talking along with the characters and making sarcastic comments throughout the film. It annoyed the hell out of Yuuichirou, who sometimes watched them with us.

"I haven't been avoiding you," came the slightly distorted voice from the television set. "I've been stranded on a strange planet for a number of years. You look great! You're doing well...You've grown!" My lips twitched a little at the picture the man made, making excuses to a woman twice his size (it wasn't a weight problem so much as the genes—she was half-giant, see), and I was reconsidering changing the channel when a door flew open, and Mina stumbled in, drenched to the bone from the pouring rain, with an unhappy-looking Luna and Artemis perched on either shoulder.

As the two felines jumped down and made their way over to the fireplace, I sidled over to Mina and gave her a look that I liked to think conveyed my feelings better than any words could have. Apparently though, it didn't, because Mina's face, instead of filling with comprehension and sympathy, was filled with confusion.

"You couldn't leave them at home?" I whispered.

Mina smiled and shook her head apologetically, pulling four videos out of her bag. "I bumped into them on my way here, and Luna decided she wanted to come."

I nodded in understanding and sighed. It wasn't that I didn't like Luna. I liked her well enough. There was no reason why I shouldn't. She cared about us and our safety, and I was well past the stage where she had to bully me into fighting every time a monster came around. It was just that she had a tendency to forget that we were just fifteen, or in Rei's case, sixteen.

I knew she meant well, but the thing of the matter was: I already had a mother. I didn't need another one.

"So how was your day, girls?" Artemis asked stretching languidly, as only a cat can.

"Oh, it was brilliant," Mina exclaimed. "We went shopping, and Ami and Rei made some old hag blue in the face with a couple of well-placed words. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life."

"Well that's nice," Luna murmured indifferently.

"Yup," Rei agreed. "And guess what else! Spaghetti brains over there," here she paused to incline her head at me, "told Mamoru and Motoki that she's Sailor Moon."

Luna's head, which had been resting peacefully on her paws as she watched the dancing flames, jerked up, all pretense of apathy gone. "What?" Her voice came out shrill, her accent swallowed in surprise. I winced and shot Rei an annoyed look. Giving me the silent treatment was one thing but tattling to Luna? That was low, even for her.

"It was a diversionary tactic," I explained.

"Why would you need a diversionary tactic?" Artemis interrupted curiously.

"Because Motoki locked me and Chiba in a storage closet last night, and I mysteriously disappeared while he was asleep. I fed them some bull about the Sailor Senshi rescuing me, but Mamoru-baka didn't buy it, so I played off his suspicions as a joke."

"He locked you two in a storage closet?" Ami asked.

Makoto walked into the room, balancing several trays of food in her arms and attempted to set down a plate of noodles on the table without knocking the trays of sushi she was holding onto the floor. Nodding in response, I jumped up to help her.

"Why would he do that?"

I scratched my head in feigned confusion. "No idea…but I think it might have had to do with the fact that Mamoru-baka knocked his scalding cup of coffee over on him."

Rei raised her eyebrows. "Was that all?"

I nodded.

"Really? That's funny, because the way I heard it, the reason Mamoru knocked his coffee over on Motoki was that he didn't see the cup there and tipped it over when he was reaching for the napkins to clean off the triple chocolate milkshake you had decorated his lap with." I glared at Makoto. She looked way too happy.

"So I forgot a few details." I shrugged. "Could have happened to anyone."

"All right," murmured Mina, piecing the bits and pieces that I'd told them together, "so Motoki got angry and locked you in a closet. Then what happened?"

"Mamoru-baka abused the door, we played cards, traded a couple of insults, I pretended to sleep, you guys called, he found my communicator, he dismissed it as being a useless trinket, he fell asleep. I henshined and destroyed the door and got the hell out of there. The end."

"The Adventures of Milkshake Klutz and Coffee Man, the condensed version," Rei muttered under her breath. I rolled my eyes.

"So you told them that you're Sailor Moon?" Apparently, Luna was still reeling from the earlier shock Rei's declaration had provoked. I tried to help.

"Don't worry; they didn't believe me."

"Well of course they didn't believe you," she snapped. "Who in the world would?" I could see that as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. "I'm sorry, Usagi," she whispered. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

I shrugged it off with a light smile and a wave of my hand, and the evening continued on. I didn't really mind so much when people thought I was ditzy and clumsy and incapable of doing anything that required an iota of thought. It meant that what I was doing was working. If my friends didn't have enough faith in me to believe that I could be Sailor Moon, then our enemies wouldn't even consider it. Still, the fact that Luna had gotten so used to the disguise that she forgot to see through it, hurt. It hurt a lot.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
Sunday (2:00am); His Apartment-**

If I wanted to be dramatic, I'd say that I jolted awake with a gasp, and that I sat in my bed trying to catch my breath, still reeling from the nightmares that plagued me…but that didn't actually happen. First of all, I hadn't been having nightmares, although I had been dreaming; about the princess, of course—I can't remember the last time I'd dreamed of something else. Second of all, I awoke with something more akin to a shudder than a jolt, and the cause of it was something much less frightening than a nightmare. Or so I thought until I picked up the blasted contraption.

"Mochi mochi," I mumbled blearily.

"Hey Mamoru, it's me, Motoki. We've got to talk."

"Can't it wait?" I stifled a yawn and checked the time.

"Uh, no, not really."

"It's fuckin' two in the morning," I snarled, all sleepiness dispersed. "Somebody better have died."

"Actually, I th…you se…I uh…"

"Furuhata!" I snapped. "Start making sense."

"I wanna call the bet off."

I very politely told Motoki exactly where he could go and then slammed the receiver back into its cage.

Furuhata Motoki was my best friend. He had always been my best friend and will always be my best friend. But right then and there? I really wanted to strangle him. Not only had he called me at two o'clock in the morning about some stupid bet, but he had also failed spectacularly to apologize for waking me up.

I got into bed and tried to go back to sleep, which would have been just fine and dandy except for the fact that I couldn't. Because now, I was curious. Why did he want to call the bet off? Was he scared to lose or was it something else? And on that note, why had he made the bet in the first place? Motoki had never been the sort of person to place bets on things where feelings could possibly be hurt. So had it been a spur of the moment sort of thing, or was something bigger at work here?

Frowning, I got out of bed and picked up the receiver. I dialed the number from memory. Motoki picked up almost immediately.

"I'm listening," I said.

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Unknown  
Whereabouts: Not Available-**

"Well?" the voice echoed through the mist, commanding the attention of everyone in its vicinity. It was a voice made to give commands, made to demand information, and even though its source was not visible, it gave the distinct impression of a slightly irritated woman, posed with her hands on her hips, ready to move at any moment and strangle her companion.

"His friend called the bet off," another voice replied. It was an octave lower than the first and carried with it the same implications.

The first voice groaned. "We're fucked."

"Not necessarily."

"Oh?"

"Well, the bet may be off, but now he's curious. He's not going to let it go."

"How do you know?"

"Would _I_ have let it go?" The hint of amusement echoed through the air.

"Of course not."

"Exactly."

"But they're not us, you know."

"I know. If they had been, some of the suggestions they made in that closet would have actually been taken."

A soft laugh followed the statement and then silence.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"A penny?" the more feminine voice asked incredulously. "Is that all they're worth?"

More silence, then: "I want—"

"I know." There was a pause. "Why are we fucking with their lives?"

"Because we're selfish."

"How can we be sure it's even going to work?"

"We can't. We can only hope."

"Why do you think we're here?" the voice was soft now and not nearly as commanding as it had been in the beginning.

"That's simple, isn't it? We have to guide them."

"So we're supposed live in their heads, as spirits, unable to anything but talk to each other and to them, after we gave our lives for love?"

"Your mother had a sick sense of humor."

"Yeah, and she never did like you."

"Like I cared." Another pause. "Why though?"

"She thought you were a bad influence on me."

The second voice snorted. "Has your mother met you?"

A mock gasp. "Don't be absurd. I was the perfect picture of innocence before I met you. You corrupted me."

"_I_ corrupted _you_? I wasn't the one who suggested we lock Raina in a closet with Jadeite."

"Okay, in all fairness, I expected them to kill each other, not…"

"Do something little kids shouldn't see?" he suggested. His smirk radiated through the air. "You, my dear, were completely and utterly corrupted long before I got a hold of you." There were a few seconds of silence. "Stop sulking, darling," he chastised, "and put your tongue back in your mouth where it belongs."

"Hmm…and here I thought—"

"When we're corporeal," he promised her, wickedly. "For now, though, we have to finish what we started. I think I'm going to make him dream."

"Hmm. I suppose I should as well. Just make sure he tones it down somewhat. She's getting suspicious and the crude comments you've been feeding him aren't helping."

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Usagi's POV  
Sunday (3:00am); ****Hikawa** **Jinga-**

-(X)-

"_They're targeting girls who look like the Senshi."_

"_I got attacked last night on my way home. Sailor Mars rescued me. I thought I was dead for sure."_

"_It's not just girls. They're attacking families, too."_

"_Did you hear that Keiko's parents were taken hostage in yesterday's attack? She's got blonde hair and blue eyes, _just like Sailor Moon_!"_

_The voices echoed around me, making my head spin. It was all the same story. The Dark Kingdom was getting smarter. They realized that the Senshi's outfits prevented people from recognizing them, but the main traits were still visible, and what better way to get to superheroes than targeting their families or other innocent bystanders?_

_The scene changed abruptly, and I found myself in a throne room reminiscent of the Silver Palace. For a minute, I thought I was in one of Serenity's memories. Then, I heard the screams. _

_I spun around. There, from every pillar, every column supporting the ceiling, hung someone I knew. At first, it was just people I saw in class or in the arcade, but as I kept running, it was my friends that I saw. Unazuki, Motoki, Naru, Yuuichirou, Umino, Asanuma, Ryo, Mamoru, Rei, Ami, Mina, Mako, Shingo, Mama, Papa, the faces raced by me as I ran, writhing in agony, crying out for me to save them._

_I reached for my broach. Not there. I couldn't save them, couldn't help them._

_Beryl appeared in my path, spreading her arms like an overgrown bat, revering her handiwork. "How does it feel, you impudent whelp? How does it feel to know that you will be the cause of their deaths? I will kill them all, Sailor Moon, just because they know you exist." She waved her hand, and I heard necks snap, watched their bodies become still. Her laughter rung through the hall._

_I dropped to my knees. I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to breathe. I just wanted to curl up and die and scream…_

-(X)-

With a gasp, I jolted awake to a sitting position in my sleeping bag. I grabbed onto a nearby door frame for support and tried to catch my breath. My heart hammered in my chest, pounding like a caged animal. After a few minutes, I had clamed down enough to inhale without sounding like a dying hippopotamus. I ran a hand through my hair, blinking away the tears that had gathered in the corners of my eyes.

"Are you all right?" a voice murmured in the darkness. I waited for my eyes to adjust and then squinted into the grey nothingness of the room. Rei was sitting up in her sleeping bag, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah," I whispered back.

"Nightmare?"

"Hmm," I confirmed.

"Kay. I'm here if you want to talk."

"Thanks," I paused, "you know, pyro, you're one of the best friends I've ever had, even if you are a real bitch sometimes."

"Erm…thanks…I think."

I laughed, feeling a little better. "Anytime."

(X)(X)(X)  
**-Chiba Mamoru  
3:00am; ****Crown** **Center Arcade-**

"So tell me again why you've decided to call off the bet."

We sat at one of the tables in the Crown Center Arcade, where I had agreed to meet Motoki an hour earlier. I had grown so accustomed to the noise that was so generally common to our favorite hangout that the silence started bothering me ten minutes into our conversation.

Motoki placed a tray of hamburgers and French fries onto the table, then doubled back to get drinks. Once he had assured that I had enough food in front of me to keep me from strangling him, he sat down across from me.

"Guilty conscience," he explained. "I don't even know why I made that stupid bet in the first place. Usagi's my friend. No amount of money is worth watching someone screw with her feelings."

I nodded. "I figured as much."

Motoki shot me a relieved grin. "So you're going to back off then?"

"Not exactly." His face fell.

"I don't understand. There's no bet, and you've never given the girl a second glance before, so why—"

"First of all, you're wrong about the second glance thing," I interrupted, shoving a fry into my mouth. "Out of all the girls I've ever met, Tsukino Usagi is the one I've paid the most attention to. Still, I haven't really seen her as anything more than ditz with an exceptionally sharp tongue until now." I smiled wickedly. "Thanks to you, Motoki, I saw a completely different side of Usagi on Friday, and I'm not going to rest until I find out why everybody else hasn't seen that side of her as well. Don't you feel special?"

"Mamoru-" Motoki began warily, but I didn't let him finish.

"You know when she said that she's Sailor Moon—" This time, it was I who was cut short.

"You've got to be kidding me. Usagi? Sailor Moon? That's—"

"Absurd? Ridiculous? Absofuckinlutely insane?" I suggested, my eyes glinting. "Exactly."

Motoki stared. "_You're crazy_."

I held up my hand. "Just hear me out."

Motoki crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "By all means."

"Fact one: Usagi is the exact same person she was a year ago, only now, she isn't quite as happy, and once in a while, to those who know her well, she seems older than fifteen. She's changed, but none of us have really noticed because she still acts like a ditzy fourteen-year-old. Fact two: Usagi disappeared yesterday after we'd been in the closet for over three hours. We only called out for help in the fist ten minutes, so what happened? Fact three: Have you noticed that Usagi's been coming in with all sorts of odd scrapes and bruises lately?"

"Maybe she's having problems at home," Motoki countered.

I snorted. "Please. I've met her father. That man would sooner gnaw off his own hand than raise it against one of his children. And her mother—let's not even go there."

"Boyfriend."

"She's single." Motoki looked surprised.

"How do you know?"

I shrugged. "I did some research."

"All right, so fact four?"

"Fact four: There are five Sailor Senshi. Usagi has four friends. The five of them are nearly joined at the hip, and each one bears a striking resemblance to one of the Senshi."

"No, they don't." I nodded.

"Yes, they do. You just don't see it. No one really does because of the way the magic works. The fukus are designed to make people disoriented when it comes to the Sailor Senshi as a whole. What you have to do is look at individual traits. Hair color, eye color, legs—" Motoki's eyebrows disappeared beneath his hair. I rolled my eyes. "Like you haven't looked."

After I heard the muttered "Good point," I continued.

"When you compare those traits to people, the magic fails. Consider Sailor Moon's unique hairstyle, for instance. Remind you of anyone?"

"Coincidence."

"Yeah, and I'm in love with Haruka Ten'oh," I scoffed. "And besides, there's more. Fact five: Usagi has a Senshi communicator. I saw it on Friday, when we were in the closet, and although I thought it was one of those fake ones at first, I'm beginning to reconsider. Fact six: She confessed."

"Surely you can't be talking about this morning."

"Oh, but I am. What better way to trick someone then to tell the truth, especially if it sounds so crazy that no one would believe you any way?"

Motoki shook his head in disbelief. "You've been watching too much TV."

Frowning deeply, I leaned across the table. "Usagi's Sailor Moon," I told him. "And I'm going to prove it if it's the last thing I do."

_TBC_

**A/N #2: I rushed in the beta-ing so I apologize if there are mistakes. Hopefully, I took care of the bigger ones. Also, in case anybody's wondering, all the inner Senshi, including Tuxedo Kamen have birthdays after May, which is the month this fic is set in. Rei's birthday, however, is on April 17th, making her sixteen, and not fifteen at the time of the story. Credit for the closet and things little kids shouldn't see goes purely to the wonderful _Black Beyond_, whose fics can be found here on ffnet. The quote from the television at the beginning of the chapter was from _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ (the movie). **

**So this update was four weeks coming but I do promise that it's all going somewhere. I take my Global Regents today and my Chemistry Regents tomorrow, so I have Thursday and Friday to write chapter seven (which WILL go up Saturday morning even if it kills me). From there, I think you can expect the next chapter on Fourth of July weekend. I'm hoping I'll have the rest of the fic outlined well enough to post more than one chapter but at this point, it seems as if I won't be able to post the conclusion until I get back from camp because I don't know whether or not I will have internet access. **

**That's just to let you guys know what's going on.**

**Tell me you appreciate it in your review. .**

**_/I had a linguistics professor who said that it's man's ability to use language that makes him the dominant species on the planet. That may be. But I think there's one other thing that separates us from animals. We aren't afraid of vacuum cleaners./_** _**-**Jeff Stilson_


	7. VII: Not in Kansas Anymore

**A/N #1: Guys, keep in mind that Usagi and Tuxedo Kamen have an iffy relationship, at best because of that one episode in the series where the girls were stuck in an elevator shaft (or something of the sort), and Tuxedo Kamen basically said that the only reason he helps them is because it keeps the Dark Kingdom away from the crystals, which will eventually form the ginzuishou. As a result, Sailor Moon doesn't quite know if she should trust him or not, and she doesn't want to get her friends killed because she depended on someone who placed a bunch of rocks above the lives of five people. And as a P.S. of sorts, I don't mind suggestions or criticism or complaints at all, especially if it is well-founded and helps me improve my writing. **

**Disclaimer:** **This story is mine, so don't copy. If you want to use something in my story in your own fic, please make sure you have my permission first. Sailor Moon & Co. belongs only to the people making money off of its existence. I'm not one of those people. Of Mice and Men belongs to John Steinbeck and maybe a few select others, Don Quixote belongs to Miguel de Cervantes, The Wizard of Oz belongs to ….Frank L. Baum, and Yahoo! belongs to Yahoo!**

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Seven  
**—_I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore—_

**-Tsukino Usagi  
11:00am; Tsukino Residence-**

When I walked into the three-bedroom pile of bricks and mortar that I had long ago come to know as home, I was warmly greeted by noise.

Noise.

There is no other way to describe it. From the kitchen, came the sizzling sound the frying pan makes when cooking dinner, while rap music blared behind the closed door to my brother's bedroom. When my father had first heard of Shingo's new interest, he'd declared him possessed. My mother, on the other hand, had deemed it just a phase and told my father to leave it alone, threatening him with a spatula if he even jokingly suggested a visit to a psychiatrist again. From the living room, the unmistakable sounds of an old war movie assaulted my ears.

I closed my eyes and spun around in a slow circle, inhaling deeply, savoring the sweet scent of home.

"Usagi!" came my mother's familiar voice from behind me. "It's so good to see you."

"Mama!" I exclaimed, turning to face her.

"I've missed you these past few days," she stressed as we embraced.

"I've missed you too, Mama. Did you enjoy your trip? How's grandmother?" My mother, along with Shingo and my father, had gone to Nagoya for the weekend to visit my grandmother. She had broken her hip that winter and still had trouble getting around (although she insisted that she didn't need any help), and she hadn't been feeling well lately so my parents had decided that now was as good a time as any to take a road trip. I had bowed out on account of school. Apparently, I had three major tests and an important presentation on Friday. My parents just about died when I told them I was giving up a chance to miss school.

Only I wasn't, of course. I didn't give a rat's ass about school. I was Sailor Moon. I had a world to save and friends who depended on me to be there when a youma appeared. Considering Friday's attack, I had made the right choice.

"We got stuck in traffic on the way back, but it was all right overall. Your grandmother's fine. Your aunt was exaggerating as usual," my mother told me.

"That's good." I pulled away in time to snatch a handful of celery sticks from the plate Shingo was carrying as he walked by. My father had developed an obsession with health food some time back, and we were all making the best of it.

I swatted Shingo's hand away as he reached for the celery sticks I'd stolen and made my way to the kitchen to see if I could find some dip. Judging from the amount on Shingo's plate, the answer was no, but hey, you can't blame a girl for trying.

"Are you going to stay home today?" My mother set about washing the dishes as I rummaged through the refrigerator. I found the empty container on one of the shelves and chucked it into the garbage, then shook my head no.

"I've got an English report due tomorrow, and the sensei wants it typed, so I'm going to be in the library."

"I do wish you'd spend more time with your family, Usagi."

"I know, Mom, and I'm trying, but things have been really hectic lately. Maybe we can all go see a movie or something once everything settles down," I replied vaguely.

My mother looked more or less satisfied with the answer so I lost no time in running upstairs and grabbing my copy of Of Mice and Men, my library card, some cash, and the report requirements. Once I had everything, I carelessly stuffed it all into a shoulder bag, grabbed my keys, and bidding my parents good-bye, walked out the door.

The walk to the library was short and peaceful. I saw a few friends, greeted a couple of classmates, and hid from Haruna-sensei behind a tree. It was a perfectly uneventful fifteen minutes; no attacks, no Chiba Mamoru. Just me and the familiar noise of Tokyo. Looking back on it now, I realize I should have known it was all too good to last.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
11:30am; The Library-**

"Mamoru!" I looked up, and Motoki lifted his hand in greeting.

"Motoki!" I tried to look somewhat happy, failed miserably, and went back to nursing the steaming cup of coffee I'd picked up on my way to the library. I was as far from a morning person as you could get without hitting nocturnal, and there was no use pretending otherwise.

"Physics report?" he asked.

I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a mass of blonde hair heading our way. It stopped suddenly and turned around, moving quickly in the opposite direction. Never one to give up the opportunity to make someone hate mornings as much as I did, I turned my head to the walking pigtails. "Odango!" I called, deeming it too early in the morning for pleasantries. "Over here!" I smirked when her shoulders slumped, and she slowly turned around. Misery loves company.

"Hey Motoki," she called, pointedly ignoring me.

"Hello, Usagi. How are you?" Motoki replied, looking slightly amused.

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Good, thanks."

"So, uh, what're you doing here?"

"I've got a Physics report due tomorrow, and the sensei wants three written sources."

"Oh. That seems interesting."

"Hmm…so how 'bout you? I don't see you in the library very often." Usagi held up a book. It took me a moment to make out the title, Of Mice and Men, partly because it was in English and partly because she was holding the book upside down. I chose not to comment.

"I have to do a report for English, typed," she explained, "and my computer crashed last week. We're still waiting for the repair guy."

"Oh, well I hope you get it fixed soon. Maybe Mamoru will keep you company in the meantime."

She forced a smile. "What about you?"

"Oh, I have to get over to the Arcade. I promised my dad I'd help out today. I've already finished my Physics report—I've been here for two hours. Mamoru, on the other hand," Motoki motioned towards me, "is quite clearly not a morning person. He just got here, and I doubt he's going to detach his mouth from the rim of that coffee cup until he drains it. And even then, don't expect him to be civil until at least one."

"'Kay. It was nice seeing you, Motoki."

Motoki nodded and made as if to turn and then thought better of it. "By the way, Mamoru," he called over his shoulder, "I gave Unazuki her present this morning. She nearly had a heart attack. Told Mom she'd have to pry the frame from her cold, dead fingers when she asked to see it and disappeared into her room. Thanks for the suggestion."

I muttered a "No problem" through a mouthful of coffee and watched as Motoki pushed past the throng of people at the entrance and disappeared through the door. Then I turned to Usagi and smiled smugly.

"You know, Chiba, one day, you're going to be wrong," Usagi glared. "I just hope I'm around to see it." With that said, she turned on her heel and stalked over to a free computer.

Shaking my head, for she had strategically chosen the only unoccupied computer in that row, I headed over to the reference section and spent the next hour poring over Physics tomes.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
1:15pm; The Library-**

Frowning to myself, I proofread my paper. It was one of the few reports we had been allowed to write in Japanese because of the sheer complexity of the assignment. We had been offered extra credit if we ventured to write in English, and considering just how much extra credit I needed, it was a chance I couldn't pass up. Generally, I was crap with languages but now, I had Mina as a friend and the girl had lived in England for fourteen years. After I spent a few hours a day for several months speaking only English to her, I improved to the point of being able to speak the language relatively well. Reading and writing took a little bit more practice, but I managed.

Satisfied, I found the print option and selected it. Then, I got up and went to find the printer that I had sent the document to.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
1:15pm; The Library-**

I watched Usagi get up and saunter away to look for her report. After I'd gotten all the information I needed, I had found myself a computer (funnily enough, there was one right near Usagi by the time I needed it) and set about finishing my report. I'd typed my last sentence half an hour ago and for the past fifteen minutes, I had been scrolling up and down the document, occasionally selecting a word, deleting it, and then retyping that same word, while I watched Usagi out of the corner of my eye and planned about how to best prove that she was indeed Sailor Moon. Nothing interesting had yet presented itself besides some blackmail material—the girl talked to herself while she worked, muttering half in English, half in Japanese, making herself incomprehensible to everyone but a select few.

I looked up and scanned the library for the blonde in question. She was quite a distance away, arguing with a librarian. Good. Casually, I leaned over and glanced at her computer screen, hoping it would give me an idea. My eyes lit on the taskbar at the bottom. She had an internet explorer window open to what looked like her e-mail provider. I clicked on the button that said "Yahoo! Japan" and found the mail button. _Unbelievable_, I thought as the window changed slightly to display "Welcome Usagi!" She was logged on. I checked her inbox and trash can for anything of interest, then the other folders. A couple of invitations, some notes, things of that sort; nothing incriminating.

'_You know that's illegal, right?'_

I ignored the voice in my head. I would deal with Endymion later. Meanwhile, it seemed as if Usagi had quickly gotten through to the librarian and was picking up her report from the printer. _Shit_. After a minute of quick thinking, I found the "My Account" button and clicked on it. My eyes flitted over the screen. It was asking me to retype the password as a security measure, but that wasn't what had caught my attention. There, right above the password box were the words: _Yahoo! ID: tsukinohime_. I smiled, memorizing the screen name without batting an eyelash.

'_Hurry up, she's coming!'_

I clicked the back button until I found the page Usagi had originally been on and returned the screen to its original condition, sitting back in my chair with moments to spare, only getting an annoyed look from Usagi as she slid back into her seat.

Executing the few commands I needed from memory, I saved my report on a floppy disk and got up, looking around for a seat that would serve as a clear vantage point from which I could make my observations.

The computer section of the library was organized with every two tables standing together, the computers of one table facing those of the other. The seat opposite of Usagi's was unoccupied. Perfect. I walked over and sat down, taking a few minutes to log on and find my own e-mail provider. Then, I began to type.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
1:20pm; The Library-**

I saved a backup copy of my report on a floppy disk and was just about to close everything and leave when my e-mail pinged, signaling that someone had sent me a message. I quickly considered ignoring it, but upon a five second contemplation, decided that it may be important and opened the document.

-(X)-

_Date: Sun 21 Apr 2002_ _13:20:10_ _+0900  
From: anonymous83  
To: tsukinohime  
Subject: Important _

_I know your secret. _

-(X)-

I blinked slowly and let my eyes skim over the screen once more. Once I'd realized I wasn't hallucinating, I cautiously replied, my brain buzzing with questions. Who the hell was this guy? What secret could he possibly be refer—I froze. Oh no. He couldn't possibly know….it was impossible. We had always been so careful. How could anyone know? A minute later, I got my answer.

-(X)-

_Date: Sun 21 Apr 2002_ _13:21:05_ _+0900  
From: anonymous83  
To: tsukinohime  
Subject: Re: Re: Important _

_I know what you're hiding; where you go every night. You're no ordinary girl at all, are you, Usagi? _

**_tsukinohime_** _wrote:  
.: Excuse me? What is this, some kind of joke? _

**_anonymous83_** _wrote:  
.: I know your secret. _

-(X)-

I paled and my throat clenched, my stomach knotting. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening.

'_Pull yourself together,' Serenity hissed inside my head. _

After a few more seconds of panic, I inhaled sharply and carefully schooled my face into a mask of surprise and slight annoyance. The creep who sent the e-mail was most likely somewhere nearby, watching me, waiting with bated breath for a reaction. Thankfully, the breakdown I'd had only lasted a few seconds. There was a chance he (or she) didn't see it for what it was. My fingers trembling, I typed my second reply and like before, the message came back almost instantaneously.

-(X)-

_Date: Sun 21 Apr 2002_ _13:23:05_ _+0900  
From: anonymous83  
To: tsukinohime  
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Important _

_You're a bad liar, princess. _

**_tsukinohime_** _wrote:  
.: Cute, but I think someone should tell you that April Fool's was three weeks ago, and I have no idea what you're talking about. _

**_anonymous83_** _wrote:  
.: I know what you're hiding; where you go every night. You're no ordinary girl at all, are you, Usagi? _

**_tsukinohime_** _wrote:  
.: Excuse me? What is this, some kind of joke? _

**_anonymous83_** _wrote:  
.: I know your secret. _

-(X)-

My eyes widened as I read the reply, and I nearly fell out of my chair. How did he know? How could he possibly know?

Before I could give the matter more thought, I really did fall out of my chair, as did several others. I hastily scrambled to my feet. What in the world was going on? There was another tremor, like the one that had thrown me out of my seat. This one seemed to be more powerful. It shook the building to its foundation. Someone nearby screamed.

"Don't panic," I told myself.

"Yeah, that's not going to work, I already tried." I looked up and came face to face with the dark blue irises of Chiba Mamoru. Perfect.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I spat venomously while the mantra continued running through my head. _How did he know?_

"Making sure you're all right. You're welcome, by the way."

I scowled darkly at him. "Didn't you just leave?"

"No, I was putting some books back on their shelves," he replied smoothly. I scanned his face for any sign of untruths, but all I saw was a carefully blank mask. I thought back to the e-mails I'd just received. Was it possible that he'd—no. I ended the train of thought before it could go any further. It was a ridiculous idea that didn't deserve even the least bit of my attention.

Another tremor knocked me into Mamoru. He grabbed my elbow to steady me and began to steer me towards the doors. "We've got to get out of here."

I jerked my arm out of his grasp. "And how do you propose we do that?" I hissed, trying to buy myself time. I couldn't leave if the Dark Kingdom was behind this. It was my duty to stay and make sure no one got hurt.

Mamoru paused. "It's really quite simple, Odango. See, first, we walk to the entrance, then, we push open the doors, and after that, we walk through said doors into the sunlight that's ever-so-kindly gracing Tokyo with its presence. Duh." Somehow, during the ever-so-humorous declaration, Mamoru's face ended up inches from my own. Blushing at the proximity of his person, I pushed him away.

"Good luck," I told him, looking pointedly at the entrance, where a crowd of people had gathered, everyone employing elbows, feet, and whatever other weapons they had handy to get out of the library.

"There must be another way out of here," he muttered, eyebrows knitted together in concentration, as he scanned every inch of the building for an exit.

"Gee, here's a thought," I muttered under my breath, "let's climb out of a window!"

"That's actually a good idea." Mamoru grabbed my hand and began to drag me over to a nearby window.

Vaguely registering that he wasn't supposed to hear that, I pulled my hand back. "Stop doing that," I told him irritably.

"Doing what?" he asked innocently.

"Invading my personal space."

"Oh was I invading your personal space?" he drawled. "I am so sorry."

"You are not," I sniffed.

"You're right, I'm not." He grabbed my hand again and this time, succeeded in getting the both of us to the window.

"Kami…" I breathed, upon seeing the sight it had to offer us. A few minutes earlier, while Mamoru and I had been fighting, as per usual, the quakes had stopped, and now I knew why. Gone were the concrete-encrusted streets of Tokyo, Japan, replaced instead by an endless expanse of sky. A fluffy, white cloud floated past the window, close enough to touch.

"Mamoru?" I said in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"Just out of curiosity…what do you think happened?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"So um…what do we do?"

"We wait, I guess."

"Okay," I whispered.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
2:00pm; The Library-**

"What are you doing?" I asked as I watched Usagi taking books off the shelf and piling them up on a table.

"Picking my least favorite ones."

"Why?"

"We need to build a fire, or we'll all freeze to death." About ten minutes into the trip, the building had started gathering speed, and the temperature had dropped drastically. The change could have easily been explained by the high altitude, but I had a feeling we were heading north. In an effort to keep warm, we had closed all of the windows, but that had only helped so much. It had been an unusually warm day for April, and most of us were dressed lightly. We needed to find a solution, and fast.

"Yeah, and?" I asked, refusing to comprehend what she was implying.

"Fires need fuel." My eyes bulged.

"You can't burn books! That's sacrilegious!"

"It's either us or the books."

"Well, why can't we burn chairs? They're wood, and they'll last longer than the paper."

"The chairs and the tables are being gathered, but there's not nearly enough to keep us alive for long."

"So you're going to resort to burning books?"

"Only the bad ones," she told me, tossing a copy of Cervantes' Don Quixote onto the pile.

"Don Quixote?" I shrieked in a stunningly accurate imitation of Usagi, "that's a classic!" Usagi grimaced.

"Oh, please. It's about a glorified knight who thinks windmills are giants and flocks of sheep are armies."

For a second, I wondered if she'd actually taken the time to read the book (not likely) or if she'd just skimmed the blurb (much more possible). Then I realized that I should say something in my defense.

"Don Quixote happens to be the world's first modern novel. The messages it gets across are worth more than…than…" I paused, searching for something that would complete the comparison. Looking around the library, which was crammed with those who had not managed to get out in time, I waved my arm in a circular motion, "…all of these people combined."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. If the look on Odango's face was anything to go by, I'd just set off a bomb. I cringed, waiting for the explosion. She didn't disappoint me.

"How can you say that?" she screeched. "How dare you imply that an ancient pile of paper has more worth than even one innocent life?"

"These people aren't innocent! Every single one of them has sinned, and half the time, they're only making everything worse. Books are the salvation of the human race. They are our inspiration, our creed as to what is right and what is wrong. If it wasn't for The Analects, life as we know if would never have existed."

Hmm…well at least I partially believed what I was saying. I mentally shook my head in amusement, wondering why I was digging myself deeper into the hole I'd hit at rock bottom when I'd implied that I knew who deserved to die. Maybe Motoki was right, and I really was crazy, or maybe I was just bored and fighting with Usagi was a way to distract myself.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Usagi's voice was dangerously low. Obviously she felt strongly about this. I was beginning to regret my decision to start a fight about something serious. "_Who_ are _you_ to say how important a person's life is? Who are you to say who gets to live and who should die? It's true that there are many people in the world who deserve a fate worse than death for the crimes they have committed, but there are also good and kind people who have done so much good in their lives, and yet they are taken from their loved ones for absolutely no fathomable reason. Can you give those people life? Can you predict if someone in this room will live to cure cancer or AIDS or world hunger? Who are you to deal judgment?"

"Um…Odango…?"

"What?" she snarled.

"I wasn't being serious."

"Excuse me?" Yup, digging deeper and deeper.

"I was just trying to set you off."

"WHAT?" she yelled. "You JERK!" She grabbed a particularly heavy tome off a shelf and chucked it at my head." Wisely, I ducked, but it didn't help me much. "How can you even joke about something like that?" She grabbed a pile of books off the table and started throwing them at me, one by one. Interestingly enough, each book was thrown with frightening speed and accuracy, the deadly corners of the volumes always the first to hit a target, and it was only my Tuxedo Kamen reflexes that saved me from impalement.

As I dodged, I became vaguely aware that what Usagi and I were doing was the subject of many a conversation.

"What in the dickens is going on in that corner?" a voice asked incredulously.

"Lover's spat," muttered another voice indifferently.

"They're going to kill each other," someone murmured from a corner nearby. "Somebody should stop them."

"You volunteering?" a fourth voice asked gruffly. "Because I sure as hell ain't. Do you hear the set of lungs that girl has on her? And that temper? She'll tear the next person to come near her to pieces _and_ burst their eardrums. He got her into a rotten mood, let him calm her down."

"And what do you suggest we do in the meantime?"

"Find a pair of earplugs."

A book whizzed by, millimeters away from my head. Too close. I tuned out the voices. Unless I started paying attention, I'd end up dead. Then, after what seemed like and eternity of gymnastics moves that were worthy of the Olympics, Usagi ran out of ammo. I sighed in relief and my shoulders slumped, only to find that she wasn't finished with me yet.

"Arrogant jerk," she hissed before planting her hand firmly on my shoulders and shoving me against the wall behind me with a bone-jarring thud.

"Don't push me!"

In reply, she lifted her foot and proceeded to grind her heel into my toes. Yelping, I pushed her away. She pushed me back and we continued the vicious cycle of insults and physical harm for some time, while I had a few interesting revelations.

Tsukino Usagi was beautiful. She was fifteen and had not yet truly come into all that Mother Nature had gifted her with, but she was beautiful nonetheless. And it wasn't just the shapely legs I knew were there, hidden as they may be by jeans, or the delicate hands, or the sparkling eyes, or the smile, or even the curves. It was everything about her; the energy she carried inside, how passionate she was about the things she believed in, the way she could be kind and loving to almost anyone, and yet had the most explosive temper I'd ever encountered. Standing in front of me, her hands up, muscles tensed, ready to lash out and push me again, breathing hard, her face flushed with anger and exertion, Tsukino Usagi was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I wanted to do nothing more than to kiss her senseless.

I'd like to say something in my defense at this moment: The fact that I was acknowledging that Odango was attractive did not mean that I had any sort of feelings for her. I was simply bored and looking for trouble and had found something interesting to do Kami only knows how many kilometers above the ground in a flying library. Really.

So I did, kiss her, I mean. The next time Usagi's hands came into contact with my shoulders, I caught her wrists and pinned her deftly against a nearby bookcase. Then, I firmly planted my mouth on hers. Interesting is the most applicable word in describing the experience. I'd kissed other girls before, of course, but it had never been quite like this. The emotions behind the kisses had never been this strong, this explosive. Kissing Usagi was strange and familiar all at once. It was like coming home and at the same time, it was like being lost. Fire surged through my veins. My brain seemed numb, devoid of thoughts. And I didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, she had other plans.

Displaying strength I would have normally never expected her to have, she detached herself from me and shot me one of those you'd-better-duck looks. Before I knew it, her fist was flying towards my face. I reached out and caught it.

At that moment, there was a loud thud, and the wind that had been howling outside only seconds before quieted. Momentarily distracted, Usagi and I found the nearest window and looked outside.

"Toto," I whispered, taking in the sight, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: Okay, not, Saturday, as promised, but Monday, which is close enough. I thought about rushing the chapter to get it on the site on Saturday but I figured you guys would appreciate a good chapter a few days later than promised, rather than a crappy one on time. I'm still kinda iffy about this installment, actually. I think the e-mail scene at the library was kind of weak and awkwardly written and I'm not sure how well I'm getting across my point. Let me know what you guys think.**

**I'm leaving for camp next Friday, I think, so I'll try to write Chapter 8 by then, but I'm not sure how that will work out.**

**I actually did get off my lazy butt (or on my lazy butt, depending on how you want to look at it) and planned out the remainder of the fic. It's going to be two more chapters and an epilogue, bringing it to total of ten installments. After that, I'll look everything over one more time, edit my typos, and declare the fic complete. I'm telling you right now, no matter how open-ended the epilogue may seem, THERE WILL BE NO SEQUEL.**

_**/Children: You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut-up./ **-coolsig_


	8. VIII: Things Unravel

**Disclaimer:** **This story is mine, so don't copy. If you want to use something in my story in your own fic, please make sure you have my permission first. Sailor Moon & Co. belongs only to the people making money off of its existence. I'm not one of those people. **

**Side Note: To everyone who read the last chapter and had to put up with my stupidity, I'm really sorry! **_jokersgirl_ **(thanks loads!) pointed out in her review that the e-mail scene was a bit awkward and I really had no idea why until I went back and reread the e-mails for this chapter and realized that ffnet screwed up everything, as per usual. I completely forgot that the site removes symbols like the asterisk in e-mails so the exchange between Mamoru and Usagi was really difficult to understand because the site not only took out their e-mail addresses (which I had fun making up—brownie points to anybody who can tell me why Mamo-chan's sn is anonymous83), but screwed up my formatting as well. I went back and fixed it if anybody's interested in rereading. **

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Eight  
**—_Things Unravel—_

**-Unknown  
Whereabouts: Not Available-**

"Just out of curiosity now, are you _trying_ to get him killed?" The words were meant lightly, but the annoyance of the speaker permeated the air.

"Now why would I go and do a thing like that?" The reply mirrored the earlier sentiment but also resonated frustration.

The two disembodied voices once again echoed through the mist of an unknown location, both impressing onto everyone in the vicinity the sheer enormity of their power. If one wasn't sure before, it was unmistakable now, as the authority of royalty resounded through the unobstructed emptiness, that creatures of importance were holding conference.

"And I suppose that his latest actions have nothing to do with you."

"Precisely, my dear."

"Oh Selene," the more feminine voice of the two murmured faintly in realization. "You've corrupted him. He was such a nice boy, and you…you've turned him into a stalker that can't get his head out of his trousers for longer than two minutes."

"You always did know how to flatter me, darling," her companion replied dryly.

"You have to fix this," she said vaguely, seemingly ignoring his remark. "Do you know, he's been sending her all sorts of frightening e-mails, and he doesn't leave her side for more than a few minutes?"

"Yes, dear, I know. I live inside his head, remember?" His voice dripped with unconcealed sarcasm.

"Oh, stop being a prick and start thinking of a solution," she snapped suddenly, regaining full control of herself once again. "She is not happy with him, and our plan requires for her to be happy with him if it's going to work."

He groaned at the thought. "Have I mentioned lately that I really don't like your mother?"

"Yes, well, I'm not particularly fond of her at the moment either, but there's really nothing we can do about it now, so there's no sense in crying over spilt milk."

"You forgot to chastise me for speaking ill of the dead."

"No, I didn't."

"Ah. Do you suppose she's up there somewhere, in some sort of afterlife dimension, looking down on us and laughing?"

"No; that wouldn't be proper, would it? She's smiling elegantly."

"We should have eloped when we had the chance."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Where's Setsuna when you need her?"

"On vacation in Tahiti, no doubt. I have to go; she needs me. Try and talk some sense into him, will you?"

"I'll try," came the wry answer, but it fell upon deaf ears.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
2:05 pm; The Library-**

Having following his gaze reluctantly, I now found myself wishing that I hadn't chosen that particular Sunday to do my book report. Really, I'm sure the sensei wouldn't have minded if I handed it in a week or so later. Of course, doing that would only serve to become yet another reason for Takahashi-sensei to lower my already failing mark…but hey, after spending a couple of hours in a flying library only to find myself literally in the middle of nowhere, suspecting wholeheartedly that Beryl was to blame for the whole mess, I would have rather taken English over again every year for the rest of my life…

Yeah okay, I'm lying. But wherever it was we were, I was seriously wishing I wasn't there. As Mamoru had kindly pointed out, we weren't in Tokyo, anymore. Nor were we in Japan, as far as I could gather, which actually wasn't quite far at all considering that I'd been sleeping through geography for the past year. But I digress. If I wasn't still breathing without any particular difficulty, I would have been wondering if we hadn't left Earth altogether.

"It's snow," Mamoru whispered in disbelief, his eyes moving over the endless expanse that surrounded us.

Our earlier disagreement forgotten for the moment, I followed his example and examined the terrain more carefully. Before, all I had been able to see was a blinding whiteness. Now, I was able to discern more blinding whiteness.

I sighed and looked away, my mind racing. I had to get in touch with the other Senshi. The Dark Kingdom was involved; there was no question about it. Libraries didn't just up and fly away of their own accord.

In truth, I knew that I should have contacted the Senshi much earlier, but Mamoru had done an impeccable job of making that impossible for me, not giving me more than a few minutes to myself and always showing up just when he'd been gone long enough for me to entertain the possibility that he'd fallen out of a window…or at least found himself someone else to bother.

Now I had to go somewhere he couldn't follow. A few seconds of worrying my lower lip gave me the perfect solution. I could only marvel at how simple it was and wonder how I could possibly have missed it earlier. It was moments like this that gave the Dark Kingdom the upper hand. Rolling my eyes at my own stupidity, I turned on my heel and made as if to walk away, but before I could go more than a few meters, Mamoru tore himself away from the window and grabbed my hand.

"Where are you going?" I wondered how to best answer that. "Away from you" came to mind but I didn't think that would go over too well, so I settled for the truth.

"I need to use the restroom," I mumbled, pulling my hand out of his grasp.

"I'll go with you," he said quickly.

I inhaled exaggeratedly and made a big show of blowing the air out of my mouth. "Gee, stalker much?" I bit out. "I wonder how much trouble it will be to get a restraining order."

"I'll wait outside if that will make you more comfortable," he elaborated, making it sound as if he was doing me a favor. I resisted the urge to wrap my fingers around his neck and squeeze. Arrogant jerk. "Buildings don't up and fly away of their own accord," he continued, echoing my earlier sentiments, "and with all the youma attacks lately, I wouldn't be surprised if this had something to do with the Dark Kingdom. It's a dangerous time for anyone to be alone."

I silently cursed him for being so persistent but agreed, knowing that arguing with him would be a waste of time, and set off to find a bathroom, vaguely aware that I had missed something, yet without any clue as to what it was.

Once I had found both the key and the bathroom, I wasted no time in disappearing behind the thick, metal door and locking it firmly behind me. I was a little surprised to find that this bathroom consisted of a single toilet and a sink, unlike the rows of stalls and sinks I was accustomed to seeing in public restrooms. Perhaps people weren't expected to remain in a library long enough to have to use the facilities.

Shrugging, I reached into my subspace pocket and pulled out my communicator. After pressing the buttons that were decorated with the signs of the Senshi, I found the button that initiated the four-way call and pressed it. Almost simultaneously, the familiar faces of my friends appeared on the screen.

"Usagi, what's up?" Makoto, as enthusiastic as ever, was perfectly content to spend the next five minutes telling me all about that day's romantic escapades.

"Hey Usagi, what's going on?" Mina's blue eyes crinkled in concern.

"Is everything all right?" Ami's eyes followed me carefully as I paced around the small room, waiting for Rei to answer the call.

"Okay," she said the moment she saw my face, "who died?"

"We've got a problem," I answered cautiously, not wanting to alarm them. When their silence urged me to continue, I decided to take a minute to explain just what the problem was. "I went to the library today and—"

"A flying pig knocked you on your bum as you exited the building?" Rei suggested sarcastically.

"No, the building picked itself up and flew away."

"Cute, Tsukino."

"I'm serious, Pyro," I snapped.

Rei's eyes widened. "You can't possibly be."

"Well, I am, and we've just landed in the middle of nowhere. It's freezing, and all I can see when I look out the window is snow. I'm pretty sure Beryl's behind the whole thing, but it would help to know where I am. Ami?"

"Are you still on Earth?"

"I think so. Would I be able to talk to you guys if I wasn't?"

She twisted her earring in reply. A blue visor appeared over her eyes, and a small computer decorated by the sign of Mercury, popped open in her hand. For about a minute, I watched Ami chew on her bottom lip thoughtfully, the numbers flitting over the screen reflected in her glasses. Finally, she released the abused lower lip, gave a small nod of understanding, and closed the computer with an audible snap. As if it was a signal known only to it, the visor disappeared, and the mini-laptop immediately followed suit.

"Well, the good news is that I've been able to considerably narrow down the question of your location, within a radius of…hmm…there really isn't a radius is there?" she trailed off, looking slightly puzzled. "But that's really beside the point. According to my computer, you are somewhere within the Arctic Circle."

I scrunched up my nose, momentarily confused. "You mean the North Pole?"

"No, of course not." She gave me a slightly annoyed look. "The North Pole is the northernmost point in the Earth's axis, but there's no actual land there. It's simply a point in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Circle, on the other hand, while also being an imaginary line of latitude near but south of the North Pole and marking the northernmost point at which the sun is visible on the northern winter solstice and the southernmost point at which the midnight sun can be seen on the northern summer solstice, actually contains land within it. Most of Greenland, some of northern Canada, and the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia can be found inside it."

I blinked. I could usually count on Ami's explanations to further confuse me, so it wasn't surprising that I felt a headache coming on and was still none the wiser for it. Still, the part of the short encyclopedia excerpt that I did understand was the thing that most worried me. According to Ami, the only information she knew about my location was that I was somewhere far north, and by the sound of things, that didn't limit our options as much as I'd hoped it would.

"Couldn't that be narrowed down a little more?" Ami sighed and swiped her hand across her eyes.

"I don't know. According to the Mercury computer, there's a web of dark energy inside the Arctic Circle, and it's wreaking havoc with its sensors. It's picking up your energy signature somewhere inside, but it can't get an exact location. As far as I could tell from the readouts, the energy was most abundant in northern Russia, which means that's where it originated. Usually, we would be able to tell the exact point of origin going by where the negative energy was most plentiful, but it's been there so long that it's spread evenly to most of the Arctic Circle." She paused for a moment to take a breath and I, sensing another long, migraine-inducing explanation coming on, quickly jumped in.

"So you think that if you could find the origin of the energy you'd be able to find me?"

"Well, the idea is that if we can locate the place the energy originated, that's where we'll find Beryl's stronghold and by association, you. However, we have no way of knowing if she's moved her headquarters lately, so it's really not a sure thing." I dropped my head into my hands.

"I'm screwed, aren't I?" I mumbled.

"I'm sure you'll survive this, Odango," said Rei. "You might have a knack for getting yourself into trouble, but you also have a knack for wriggling out of it at the last possible minute. There is still something I don't understand though—why didn't you call us earlier? Surely you realized something was wrong when the library flew into the air. Things like that are kind of hard to miss, even if you are Tsukino Usagi and prone to flights of fancy at all hours of the day."

I almost smiled when I heard the bite resurface in her words. If Rei was still being sarcastic, I still had a chance of getting out of this alive.

"I've been a little preoccupied with other things," I replied. Rei snorted.

"Like what? Your book report?"

"I wish. I think I've got a stalker."

Rei burst out laughing, Mina raised her eyebrows, Ami looked at me worriedly, and Makoto took it upon herself to voice what they were all undoubtedly thinking. "Um…Usagi, why would someone stalk you?"

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, but I've gotten several e-mails from someone called _anonymous83_ and I think he knows I'm Sailor Moon."

"What makes you say that?" Mina asked.

"Said he knows my secret and called me princess."

"Well here's a thought: maybe it's because your e-mail is _tsukinohime_!" I glared daggers at Rei.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes in response.

"Anything else we should know?"

"Yeah, Mamoru-baka has taken an unhealthy interest in me."

"What?"

"He's practically attached himself to my hip; hasn't left me alone for more than a couple of minutes a time. It's driving me nuts!"

A dangerous gleam appeared in Mina's eyes. "You don't say," she murmured, looking for all the world like the cat that just swallowed the canary.

"Aino Minako, is there something I should know about?" I asked, trying to sound stern and failing miserably.

"Nope!" she said cheerfully. "So, how'd you manage to get away?"

"I told him I needed to use the bathroom," I replied, grudgingly allowing her to change the subject.

"Well, that means you have to be getting back," observed Ami carefully. "We can't have him getting suspicious."

I reluctantly agreed and reached for the button that would end the transmission.

"We'll do everything we can to find you," Makoto assured me.

"Yeah," Mina chimed in. "You just keep Beryl busy 'till we get there, and then we'll take her out once and for all."

I nodded silently, trying hard not to burst into tears and revert back to the person I was a year ago. I didn't want to go back to Mamoru. If it was up to me, I'd stay locked up in that little bathroom until all my problems died of old age.

'_Well it's not up to you,' _Serenity snapped. Her voice sounded hard and bitter and jaded. It reminded me frighteningly of Mamoru. I thought back to what he told me about his parents' death and wondered how much I really knew about Serenity and her, or rather _my,_ past. '_It stopped being up to you when my mother activated that stupid crystal and landed you in this living hell where your only choice is to keep fighting and die later or to stop fighting and die now, just like it stopped being up to me when she forbade me to see Endymion and brought around the destruction of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Alliance.'_

_What?_

'_Surprised?'_

_I've never heard you speak ill of your mother before._

'_Don't you mean our mother?'_

_I don't know anymore. This is all so confusing! I mean, I'm supposed to be the reincarnation of the Crown Princess of the Moon, but I'm just a girl who runs around in a really short skirt and throws tiaras at monsters while the Princess, you, lives as a separate entity inside my head. Technically, Queen Serenity is your mother. Mine is currently at home, making lunch._

'_Good point.' _

_So…um…what really happened during the Silver Millennium?_

'_It doesn't matter now,' Serenity replied sharply. 'But maybe I'll tell you when all this is over. It's time to go back to him.' _

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
2:05 pm; The Library-**

'_Can I ask you a question?'_ The annoyingly familiar voice made its presence known in my head once more.

_Do I have a choice?_ I replied curtly.

'_What the hell are you doing?'_

_Excuse me?_

'_What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing.?'_ Endymion repeated, pronouncing each word carefully, as if talking to a five-year-old.

_I'm leaning against a wall, idiot._

'_You'd be better off having your head knocked against it a couple of times; maybe you'd get some sense in that useless brain of yours.' _

_Are you going to tell me what has set you off, you bipolar, prehistoric ape, or are you going to keep insulting my intelligence?_

'_Your deluded quest to prove that Usagi is Sailor Moon.'_

_I don't see how that has anything to do with you._

'_You're crossing the line—the creepy e-mails, the stalking—you're going to scare the poor girl out of her mind.'_

_If it helps her confess, then I don't see anything wrong with it._

'_You're impossible, do you know that?'_

_I'm a man on a mission._

'_You're an idiot—something you'll undoubtedly regret a decade from now when she remembers this occasion during an argument and condemns you to the couch.'_

_What?_

'_Never mind—you'll figure it out someday.'_

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
2:15 pm; The Library-**

I was still frowning at the mystery behind Serenity's words when I closed the door behind me as I exited the claustrophobia-inducing room. As promised, Mamoru was waiting for me outside, casually leaning against the adjoining wall. With his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his ankles crossed, he watched the unfortunate people trapped with us moving around through half-lidded eyes.

"Took you long enough," he informed me, pushing himself into a more upright position. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and began to methodically adjust his long-sleeved, button-up shirt, but it only ended up looking even more of a mess; it was only partially tucked in, and the sleeves were rolled up rather carelessly, and the top three buttons had come undone.

"You were better off leaving it be," I told him as he ran a hand through his hair, apparently realizing at the same time as I that his efforts were fruitless.

"We have to get out of here before Beryl gets any more bright ideas."

I was about to agree when the tiled floor shook again, and I found myself pressed up against a warm body. Sighing, I pushed him away. I had to stop doing that. There was another tremor, but I was ready for it this time, tensing my legs and keeping my balance with little difficulty. _Easy enough_, I decided, getting ready for another quake. But what came next I could never in a million years have prepared myself for.

A gust of cold wind blew in through a window, and the temperature noticeably dropped. The daylight that had been streaming through the windows disappeared, and an eerie grey color filled the building. These changes were accompanied by the unmistakable sensation of moving downwards, as if in an elevator. Following a few minutes of such a course, the building stopped and lurched forward and soon afterwards, up. When it stopped moving, five minutes later, it had gotten considerably warmer, and the greyness that had permeated the building was replaced by multicolored lights.

"Oh shit," Mamoru muttered.

The main doors swung open, and a pale-skinned, cruel-looking woman in a revealing violet dress stepped through. Her earthly-looking, curly red hair and chartreuse eyes did nothing to diminish the demonic effect years of evil had had on her.

"Beryl," I whispered.

Standing erect and proud, she surveyed us slowly, almost lazily. And then she smiled, a cold, calculating smile that revealed her pointed teeth and silently promised all that she had in store for the lambs that had so foolishly wandered into her cave.

"You did well, Kunzite. It was a capital idea to bring the Terrans here instead of wasting countless warriors in collecting energy only to lose it when the Sailor Senshi became involved. Take them to the dungeons, and have them secured. Then, you can do as you like. Perhaps you'll reward one of the youma I've assigned to do your bidding, or perhaps you'll play a bit yourself. It matters not to me as long as there's plenty of energy left for when I need it," Beryl commanded imperially to the invisible general.

"Yes, my Queen."

Satisfied with the words of acquiescence, she disappeared, and the man she had been talking to emerged from the shadows. Dressed in dark grey armor that brought attention to his long, silver hair and his pale blue eyes, he was familiar to me, for he was the last of the four generals, and the strongest. We had encountered him in battle several times and had not yet emerged victorious, for he was still standing and perfectly capable of serving his mistress.

"You have a choice," he called out, "you can follow me or die." I had to hand it to the guy—he sure knew how to organize a crowd.

No one dared to protest.

"Come on," I grabbed Mamoru's arm. "Stay towards the back of the line. He'll be up front, leading."

Within minutes, we had left the library and were making our way through Beryl's stronghold, youma leering at us at every turn.

A little girl, her brown hair pulled into two messy pigtails, was trudging along in front of us, her left arm wrapped protectively around a clean, but worn teddy bear and her right hand vainly wiping tears from her face. She tripped over a rock and fell, sobs erupting from her mouth. A few stopped to help her but the youma, seeing a weakness, threw themselves at her, driving her protectors away and escaping with their intended prize.

"What's the hold-up back there?" Kunzite called.

"It's nothing of importance, my Lord," the victorious demon answered slyly.

"You tell me what it is, and I'll decide if it's important," Kunzite snarled.

"'Tis just a lost child, my Lord. I was kindly taking her off your hands; she won't have much energy to give, but she'll be screaming like a stuck pig for hours to come—useless and painful."

"Fine, take her. The rest of you, keep moving."

This time, not a muscle was moved.

"I said KEEP MOVING," he roared, enraged.

No one complied.

With a smooth motion of his hand, Kunzite produced a knife and threw it at a tall, red-haired man, who was trying to tug the little girl out of the youma's grasp. When it connected with his back, he crumpled without a sound. Someone in the crowd screamed.

"For every minute that you don't move, I'll kill a person in the crowd," thundered Kunzite. He grabbed an elderly woman and pulled her to him. "She's next."

"We have to do something," Mamoru whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

"No shit, Sherlock," I hissed, a little miffed, as it was obvious that I would be the one doing the aforementioned something and in the process, revealing my alter ego. I pulled my brooch out of my subspace pocket.

'_Are you crazy?'_ Serenity exclaimed as I thrust it into the air, resolve hardening my features, '_you can't henshin in front of all those people!'_

_Innocents do not get hurt on my watch._

"_Moon Crystal Power, Make-Up!"_ I called loudly, easily diverting Kunzite's attention from his newest victim.

I was lifted into the air, and after a few minutes of bright lights that successfully disguised my lack of clothing, my feet hit the ground, this time in red, high-heeled boots, not white sneakers.

"It's Sailor Moon!" someone cried out.

"Oh you are!" Mamoru crowed most immaturely, "I knew it!"

"Yes, you're quite the genius, now would you do me a favor and shut up?"

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
2:30 pm; Beryl's Stronghold-**

"Touchy, aren't you?" I teased.

She rolled her eyes at me and pulled off her tiara. "_Moon Tiara, Action_," she cried, throwing it at the youma who held the little girl and narrowly missing the child. The youma turned to dust, leaving the little girl, who apparently held no grudges, to run into Usagi's arms.

Usagi held her and moved her hand in small circles over the little girl's back, making quiet soothing noises all the while.

"Shh, sweetie, don't cry, it's going to be okay."

The girl continued to sniffle.

"Can you tell me your name?" she tried again.

"Akemi."

"That's a pretty name. Where are your parents, Akemi-chan?"

But instead of answering, Akemi shrieked and pointed behind Usagi, where Kunzite was advancing on her steadily. Usagi rose to her feet and handed the small girl to me.

"What am I—?" I began.

"If she gets hurt, it's your ass," Usagi hissed in English and turned to face Kunzite.

I sighed and turned to Akemi, who I now held in my arms. I was ashamed to say that I had absolutely no idea what to do. There had been little children at the orphanage, of course, but I had always distanced myself from people, and now all I had to show for it was absolutely no baby-sitting experience.

"Hi." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Usagi dodge a well-aimed dagger.

"Hello," Akemi mumbled, still a little tearful.

"It's Akemi, right?" I asked, starting to bounce her on my hip as I had done seen in the occasional movie.

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Five." She held out five chubby fingers to help me understand. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen."

"That's very old," she told me solemnly.

I smiled. "So, where are your parents?"

"At work." I knitted my brows together in confusion.

"Who were you at the library with, then?"

"My baby-sitter; she's old too, but you're older."

"Uh, thanks. Do you know where she went?"

"Nope," Akemi told me almost brightly, her bottom lip no longer trembling.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
2:40 pm; Beryl's Stronghold-**

"You have interfered with my plans for the last time, Sailor Moon," Kunzite told me, producing several energy knives out of thin air and throwing them at me in quick succession.

_That's strange,_ I thought, gazing the hilt of the solid knife that now decorated my side. It was engraved with a circle upon which an equal-length cross was super imposed. _Isn't that the sign of Earth?_

'_I'll tell you about it later, if you stay alive long enough,' _Serenity hissed.

"Right," I mumbled, shaking my head and dodging yet another energy knife. Several had already sliced me, but I couldn't exactly block them with my hands. Summoning my strength, I pulled my moon wand out of my subspace pocket and pointed it at Kunzite, ignoring the knives that were tearing open my flesh.

"_Moon Healing, Escalation!_" I called out and let the power of the ginzuishou fall on my enemy.

In response, he sent another energy knife at me (the nerve!). I thrust the moon wand at it and hit it away. Deflected from its target, the knife fell upon its master.

I could have sworn I saw something akin to gratitude in Kunzite's eyes as he flew backwards and disappeared before hitting the wall of the cave.

_TBC_

**A/N # 2: Wow…so…I'm back, and it's been a pretty hectic five weeks. (I actually had to reread chapter seven before I remembered where I was trying to go with the fic.) There was no internet access, as I'm pretty sure everyone's guessed by now, from the lack of updates, and even if there had been, I doubt I would have been able to get out more than a chapter. See, I had intended to finish Ooops! by hand and then type the remaining chapters up when I got back, but I had no idea just how busy I'd be. If you care, go check out my lj (link in profile). Camp is the first entry.**

**Please leave a review, it's the right thing to do. **

**_/You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, we will supply you with the stupidest, first year law student, dumb-ass slacker we can find on the continent./_** - _Lethal Weapon 4_


	9. IX: Surprise

**Disclaimer** **This story is mine, so don't copy. If you want to use something in my story in your own fic, please make sure you have my permission first. Sailor Moon & Co. belongs only to the people making money off of its existence. I'm not one of those people. **

**OOOPS!  
Chapter Nine  
**—_Surprise—_

**-Tsukino Usagi  
2:50 pm; Beryl's Stronghold-**

Before I had a chance to recover, a youma that had been watching us from an alcove in the rock wall that made up the prehistoric cave Beryl called home dove at me. Something silver flashed in front of my eyes, and a jolt of pain raced through me.

"First blood," the demon sneered, its small, pink eyes darting about eagerly.

Before it could strike again, I reached into my subspace pocket and in one swift motion, pulled out a long, silver sword with an intricately engraved hilt.

"That would be second, then, wouldn't it?" I asked, swinging the weapon in a wide arc. The youma's eyes passed calculatingly over the sword, and it hesitated a spilt second before taking a step back. It was a good thing the sword wasn't as heavy as it looked, I decided grimly surveying the damage. The youma had misjudged the speed with which the sword was moving and did not dodge it successfully. It was now missing the lower half of its left arm.

Growling angrily, it lunged at me, dagger flashing through the dim light of the cave. I side-stepped, grabbed its uninjured arm, and used the youma's momentum to direct it towards a wall; head first. It slumped on the floor, immobile. Someone in the crowd behind me cheered, reminding me that I had to get them out of there before Beryl decided to send reinforcements.

"Everybody hold hands, and be on the lookout for hidden youma," I instructed, turning to face them. "I think I can get you out of here."

I sheathed the sword in the scabbard that had appeared at my hip when I had drawn the weapon and pulled out my communicator, wasting no time in contacting the Senshi.

"Moon here," I announced as four familiar faces appeared on the screen. "I've got about a hundred people I need to transport safely back to Tokyo. Is there any way we can use the Sailor teleport?"

Ami, who already had her Mercury computer open in the palm of her hand, replied within seconds.

"It's never been done before. The computer doesn't know. What did you have in mind, Sailor Moon?"

"Well," I began, chewing thoughtfully on my bottom lip, "the five of us have combined our powers before to teleport to different places, right?"

Ami nodded. "True enough, but we can't do it if we're not all together."

"But we _are_ together," Rei interrupted. "Our souls are bonded because of the oaths we took back in the Silver Millennium. The bonds don't weaken, even in death."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed.

"Okay, so technically, we can still combine our powers," Mina murmured, "but how does that help us move a hundred people from one place to another?"

"I was thinking that the five of us could act as a portal of sorts. I'd open it from here, and you'd open it in Tokyo, and we could send everyone through with one big power surge."

Makoto frowned. "Is that even possible?"

In response, Ami began typing away. "It sounds good, in theory," she told me, furrowing her eyebrows at the screen, "But it could kill you."

"Then it's out of the question," Mamoru's voice came from behind me.

"Like hell it is." I wheeled around to face him. "I stand a much better chance of surviving Beryl if I don't have to worry about some odd hundred people in addition to myself."

"What does it matter if you can't handle the teleport? You're dead anyway."

"But at least _they're_ alive," I jerked my head towards the multitude of people standing behind me.

Mamoru rolled his eyes in exasperation and proceeded to mutter something under his breath that involved some choice Japanese and a lot of very rude English. I ignored him.

"I have the highest energy signature of all the Senshi and the ginzuishou at my command," I told Ami. "If anyone can handle this, it's me."

"It's true that your energy signature is unusually high," Ami allowed, "but it may not be enough. As one person, you don't have the concentration needed to open such a portal."

"Well how about a hundred people?" Makoto asked. "If a hundred people plus the five of us concentrated on one destination and Sailor Moon lent them her power, wouldn't that be enough?"

"Well I-I suppose."

"Then it's worth a try, isn't it?"

"All right; but you have to understand that this will be both mentally and physically exhausting not only for you but for all of us. The portal teleport may leave you powerless against Beryl and will slow us down immensely. It'll be a while before we can get to you."

"I don't care—I'm willing to risk it."

Ami nodded. "I'll send through a hologram of where we are so everyone can have a clear picture in their minds.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru  
3:05 pm; Beryl's Stronghold-**

"I have the highest energy signature of all the Senshi and the ginzuishou at my command," Usagi told the Senshi stubbornly. "If anyone can handle this, it's me."

_Well that's all well and good_, I thought, still bouncing Akemi in an effort to calm her, for she had become slightly upset when I went into my little tirade, _but it wouldn't—hold on, what?_

I ran Usagi's words through my head again. "I have the highest energy signature of all the Senshi and the ginzuishou at my command." As if on cue, the princess's words followed.

…_the ginzuishou, Endymion, please, you have to find it, find it, and you will free me…look inside yourself and remember… think you've forgotten…_

…_look deep… find what you are searching for… remember battle—where the crystal went…_

…_are fooling yourself…find out… _

…_looking in the wrong place…_

…_within the person who you least expect to have so great a treasure…_

…_the ginzuishou at my command…_

My ears rang with the words that became more disjointed every minute, but were no less understandable. _Of course._ How could I have been so stupid? The princess had been dropping hints left and right. All the nonsense about the crystal being where I least expected it, the battle, hell even her hair style—it all pointed to Usagi—

_Snap!_

Startled, I looked up to find Usagi's hand in front of my face, her fingers curling together in preparation for a repeat of the previous motion. When she realized she had my attention, she reached out and gave me a push.

"Are you going or what?" she asked, frowning at me.

"Going where?"

"Back to Tokyo, baka."

"No," I replied simply. _Wait, what?_

She stared at me for a minute, as if not fully understanding what I was saying. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not leaving you here."

'_You're not?' _

_I'm not?_ I wondered along with Endymion.

"You're not?" she echoed.

"Nope." I lifted Akemi off my hip and gently pushed her into the arms of a middle-aged woman in a dark blue windbreaker and jeans. "I don't intend to leave you here to die. If the teleport is going to be as draining as A—Mercury suspects, you're going to need help evading Beryl until the other Senshi show up."

Usagi opened her mouth, looking as if she was about to protest, then shut it tightly, pursing her lips in an annoyed manner.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
3:05 pm; Beryl's Stronghold-**

"Fine," I snapped, "it's your funeral."

"Glad you agree."

I rolled my eyes and turned them to the screen of the ever-so-trusty communicator that I had successfully managed to break three times in the past two years. "Mercury? How 'bout that hologram?"

"Just a second," came the murmured reply. Ami was true to her word, for moments later, the screen flashed, and a hazy picture of the Hikawa Shrine erupted from the small device. I placed the communicator gently on the ground and stepped back.

"That's where you're going," I told the crowd. "Some of you have been there before and will be able to picture it more clearly than others, but the hologram should help, either way. So, if everyone's ready, close your eyes and let Hikawa Jinja appear in your minds. Hikawa Jinja, with it's hundreds of steps and Sakura trees, blossoming, welcoming. Concentrate on this image. Don't let it go." I closed my eyes and did just as I had told them, grabbing the hand of the person closest to me. "_Sailor Teleport_," I whispered. From the communicator, came the voices of the Senshi, repeating the mantra.

I felt the power course through me, pulling, testing, the bond that I had with my Senshi, the bond that I had with the ginzuishou. Knowing what was to come, I prepared myself for the mental and physical strain and waited.

A minute passed, then two, then three. Slowly, I opened my eyes, one at a time. In front of me were about a hundred strangers, all holding hands, their eyes closed tightly as they tried to concentrate on the image of home. "_Sailor Teleport!_" I tried again.

Nothing.

It didn't work.

The ginzuishou, the most powerful object in existence, had decided to take a nap when I needed it most. "Piece of crap," I muttered, dropping the stranger's hand in frustration.

'_I couldn't agree more_,' came Serenity's voice in my head.

When I thought about it later, I wondered if maybe that had been what triggered it, because when Serenity's last word had finished echoing through my mind, the ground began to move. Caught off balance, I neatly landed on my butt. Pressing my palms firmly to the stone floor, I scrambled to get up. I'm ashamed to say that I did not succeed.

I suppose that, in my defense, I can say that getting up is a bit difficult when one feels like they're being ripped apart limb by limb, but you'd just tell me that as a Senshi, I should be able to handle that.

Sorry to disappoint you.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
Time: Unknown; Whereabouts: Questionable-**

When I came to sometime later, I found myself wondering if Mamoru-baka had managed to jot down the license plate of the truck that ran me over. Pain assaulted every inch of my being. But that's a cliché. How do you know what it feels like? Let me put it into words that you can understand. My head felt like a hot air balloon, my arms and legs refused to respond to command, and my eyes turned me down when I sweetly requested that they show me something more than multicolored blurs.

"Bad idea," I slurred to no one in particular.

"You think?" a familiar voice drawled from somewhere nearby.

I cringed. Damn. I was hoping I had gotten rid of the arrogant jerk.

"Do you know where we are, Chiba?" I asked, swiveling my tongue around my mouth to get rid of the cottony feeling.

"Sure I do," he answered brightly. "We're in a stone room with youma at every entrance and no hope in hell of getting out alive. Where did you think we were, Usagi?" he spat, his tone changing like the days of the week.

"Don't call me Usagi," I snapped automatically.

"Tsukino Usagi is Sailor Moon, and Motoki is going to have kittens when he finds out that I was right all along!" he said in a singsong voice that did not help matters at all.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru-**

"You told Motoki?"

"Of course I told him! I don't see why you're worried anyway; no one would suspect that you, of all people, are Sailor Moon. I mean it's a ridiculous thought, isn't it, considering the way you act most of the time?"

Usagi's eyes flashed angrily and then all hell broke loose—or at least it seemed that way to my ear drums.

"Why do you think I act that way, baka?" she hissed venomously, "I am _fifteen_ years old, and in my lifetime I have seen things that will give you nightmares for the rest of yours, things that you cannot possibly imagine, not for lack of trying but because the human brain simply cannot fathom them. Clumsy am I? Can't take a step without tripping over my own damn feet and taking a whole street of people with me? I don't do anything I don't want to do, Chiba. Think I'm an immature crybaby? A ditz that doesn't know a manga from a novel? What do you think will happen when the Dark Kingdom notices a fifteen-year-old girl that knows too much and acts too old and bears a striking resemblance to a certain superhero? I don't want the youma that have been appearing in Tokyo to think they've found their Sailor Moon because I have a family, Chiba. I have parents and a little brother, all of whom I love despite them often being annoying. I have friends that I don't want to put in danger and friends who are already in danger just because they associate with me. And you, you arrogant jerk, you dare mention my name here of all places?"

I stared at her for a minute and then said, "I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking."

"No," she replied quietly, "you weren't. But I suppose I'll have forgive you if we're to work together and survive this."

"All right, well, you just destroyed Kunzite, didn't you? He was the last of the generals, so there's only youma left now. That'll make it easier."

"Yeah, youma and Beryl her—hang on—how did you know that Kunzite was the last of the generals? How did you even know about the generals in the first place?"

Shit.

"Uh…newspapers?"

"Oh. Okay then." Wait. Had Usagi just avoided picking a fight with me?

"Are you okay?" I asked her suspiciously.

"Fine…it's just that…well…I should probably tell you that I uh…can't see." The last two words were mumbled and for a minute, I wasn't sure if I'd heard correctly. One look at her unfocused eyes convinced me that I had.

"You can't see?" I took a moment to absorb just what that meant. "Brilliant. We're trapped in a cave somewhere, surrounded by youma and God knows what else, and you can't see. We're going to die."

"Don't start with me," she warned, turning her head in my direction and doing her best to glare.

"Yes, that rock ten feet to my right is ever so frightened," I said sarcastically. In reply, she clenched her jaw and directed the death glare to the floor. After a few minutes, I asked, "Anything else I should know?"

Usagi looked up and began chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously.

"What?"

"I can't seem to be able to move either," she admitted.

Relief flooded me. "That's because we're chained to the wall—wrists and ankles," I explained.

"Oh." Then, "We really are going to die, aren't we?"

"Of course you are, brat. Luck alone will only get you so far. It's time you learned that," the voice grated against my ears like nails on a chalkboard. Beryl, much-too-revealing dress and all, was standing in the doorway, something resembling a smile of triumph on her face. Perhaps I would have actually considered it a smile, had fangs not been poking out of the corners of her mouth. "Kill the boyfriend," she told a youma on her right, inclining her head slightly towards me.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Usagi exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I'm not her boyfriend," I confirmed.

"Right. That's why she sent two hundred humans back to Tokyo but conveniently left you. I'm evil, not stupid," Beryl sniffed, looking slightly offended.

"He has a death wish," Usagi explained. I'm not quite sure what she was thinking at this point. Maybe she thought Beryl would not do something that made me happy, or maybe she just wanted revenge on me for how miserable I'd made her life in those past couple of days. Either way, the decision was not in my favor.

"And it shall be fulfilled. You heard me, Kioze; kill him."

The youma in question bared its teeth and produced a dagger out of thin air.

_Oh Kami, I'm gonna die._

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi-**

_Oh Selene, I'm an idiot. _

The blurry, shapeless forms around me were slowly starting to come into focus. Mamoru was barely two feet away from me, and for a moment, I could discern the fear in his eyes, and the hatred. Then, it was gone. It was my fault. I let him stay. I dragged him into this mess. Annoying jerk or not, he didn't deserve to die like this. He didn't deserve to die at all. The youma raised the sword into the air. I cringed, waiting for the blow to fall. There were no options. There was nothing I could do. It was just like my nightmare, only now, it was real.

"Wait," Mamoru's voice rang out, clear and confident. "I wouldn't do that if I was you."

Beryl raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? And why not?"

"Because when the Senshi get here, and they will get here, you will be sorry that you spoke too soon and rid yourself of a valuable ally."

What? He couldn't possibly be saying…

She scoffed. "A valuable ally? You? What use can you possibly be?"

"Ask yourself what use Prince Endymion, heir to the throne of the Terran kingdom, can be to you, and you will have your answer, my queen."

_Serenity, who the hell is Endymion?_

'_A great, big idiot of a Terran.'_

_Is he dangerous?_

'_Dangerous doesn't even begin to cover it.'_

_Oh. _

Beryl shook her head. "Endymion is dead. I killed him myself after he refused to join me."

"Yes, but the Sailor Senshi were also killed in battle, and yet here they are, a perpetual thorn in your side. Rebirth is not out of the question when you're courting the whiny, teenage daughter of a powerful woman like Queen Serenity."

Beryl narrowed her eyes shrewdly. "Are you trying to tell me that you've come to your senses at last, Endymion?"

"My queen, surely you, a Terran noble, know of my reputation? All I wanted from the pretty princess was a shag, and now that she's dead, there's no reason at all for me to pretend allegiance to the moon. It's laughable, isn't it, that the good Queen couldn't manage to bring her own daughter back? Perhaps the ginzuishou doesn't fix suicides."

A satisfied smirk crept across her face. "How very agreeable you suddenly are, Endymion. I quite like you this way." She waved her arm theatrically and the manacles on his wrists and ankles fell open. Gracefully, Mamoru stepped onto the floor, looking for all the world like a spoiled, rich ass, unconcerned with anyone or anything but himself. Rubbing feeling back into his wrists, he walked over to Beryl and, smiling, put an arm around her waist. I resisted the sudden urge to deposit everything I had eaten that day onto his immaculate shoes. He was too far away—it would be a useless effort.

"Should I take care of Sailor Moon, then?" asked the overeager demon.

"Yes, why not? I was going to kill her myself, but Endymion and I have some catching up to do," she purred suggestively.

_Ew. _I shook my head at the mental image. _Gross on a whole new level._

"No," Mamoru said quickly. I stared at him hopefully, praying that it was all just an elaborate act. But he chose that moment to meet my eyes, and I saw in them nothing but cold, calculating, ruthlessness. "I've got a better idea."

"Oh?"

"Sailor Moon spoke to the Senshi hours ago; they'll be here soon. Leave her here until they arrive. Then bring them in, and kill them one by one, so that they know just how incompetent a leader they trusted with their lives. And after that, we'll kill her. Together."

"What a wonderful idea," Beryl decided, and with a slight nod, turned to go. The walked through the arched doorway together, witch and traitor, arm in arm.

There's something about watching a person you thought you knew willingly embrace your worst enemy that leaves you somewhat short of breath and unsure of quite what to say. For a few minutes, I didn't move, wondering if maybe I was having a particularly bad dream. Then, I thrashed around for a bit, trying to pull the chains loose, and giving myself blisters in the process. After that, I was quite content to remain quiet with the exception of the occasional curse. At least by that time, I could see again, for all the good that did me.

I'm not sure how much time passed exactly. I don't wear a watch, and when there's no sun or moon to go by, minutes start to seem like hours, and all sense is lost. It's at these times that a person starts to think, and that's not always a good thing. In my case, 'not always' was redundant. It was _never_ good when I over thought stuff, because when I did, things I had written off as coincidence fell together and formed one big picture, and then all I had for my troubles was a deep-seated feeling of complete and utter stupidity.

Of course Mamoru knew about Beryl and the generals! If he was really the reincarnation of this Endymion, like he said, then he would know all about it. And if he was trying to get to Beryl all along and join her, he wouldn't have wanted to go back to boring old Tokyo. His deciding to stay had nothing to do with me after all. That bastard! For all of ten minutes, he had me trusting him. How could I have been so stupid?

'_Hang on, now,'_ Serenity chimed in. '_You don't want to jump to conclusions.' _

_Is there something you know that you wanna tell me?_ I asked irritably.

'_Er_…'

_Then leave me the hell alone,_ I practically snarled and heard nothing more from her for a long time.

In fact, the next familiar voice I heard made me wish I had never met its owner, because then, she wouldn't be mere moments away from a painful death, and neither would the other three.

"Hey! I can walk just fine on my own, thanks," Rei spat. There was a sound of something hitting the wall with a loud clunk. I had a feeling it wasn't the fiery Senshi's head that was in danger of losing its contents.

"Dude! Lay off the man-handling, all right? We're not stupid. We know we're in enemy territory and outnumbered. We'll go where you want us to," Makoto's unspoken words hung tensely in the air—"and _then_ we'll kill you."

"D'you think we can get a restraining order when we get back to Tokyo?" Mina asked in a thoughtful whisper.

"That doesn't seem likely," Ami murmured.

"By the order of the court of Japan, I, Judge er…whatever…, order that no evil villains come within ten feet of the Sailor Senshi, effective yesterday, punishable by a painful death administered by the poor, overworked girls themselves," Makoto joked awkwardly.

There was a series of yelps as the four Senshi tumbled into the room where I was. For a minute, we looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say. "So, did uh, you guys find the place all right?" I asked finally.

Mina let out a giggle, and the four of them rushed to embrace me.

"Thank Kami, you're all right, Sailor Moon," said Makoto.

"Yeah, Spaghetti Brains, it's good that you're not dead."

"Aaw, thanks Pyro," I crooned. For a moment, it all felt normal. We were back at the Hikawa Shrine, fruitlessly chucking Sakura blossoms at each other and arguing over which bishonen was cuter. There was no danger, no youma, no Beryl, and no impending death.

"How absolutely touching," a voice boomed, sounding about as moved as a person who sees two cockroaches mating.

And it was over then. The relief at seeing my friends disappeared and was replaced by dread, leaving me feeling as if someone had woven my stomach into intricate ribbons. Maybe they were pretty, but they sure as hell didn't make me feel any better.

Ribbons in my stomach and blinding light as I felt my feet leave the floor; I had to hand it to the woman…creature…demon…what the hell was she, anyway?...thing, I decided, as the five of us were unceremoniously deposited in a large hall: she sure knew how to put on a show.

Beryl sat on what appeared to be a throne made of skulls. Mamoru stood at her side, his face expressionless. He wore a midnight blue jacket that didn't quite reach his waist over grey armor and dark blue pants, bottoms stuffed into black boots. A black cape with red, silk lining hung from his shoulders (the vestiges of a distant memory tugged at a corner my brain at the sight), and a sword decorated the scarlet belt around his waist. The ensemble was somewhat reminiscent of the generals' grey, but seemed to indicate higher rank. I briefly wondered when he'd had time to change. That led to a mental image that I won't describe for respect of your sanity. Not surprisingly, my gag reflex kicked in again.

"Welcome, girls," Beryl announced in a deceptively warm tone, "This meeting has been a long time coming. Tell me, have you enjoyed your stay so far?"

"No, not really," I told her, playing along. "I realize you've missed a lot trapped in this icebox, but you need to work on that whole hostess thing. After all, chaining guests to a wall isn't exactly polite."

Something akin to anger flashed across Mamoru's face. Had I looked in the mirror, I would have seen my eyes blaze with the same emotion. How dare he?

"Yes," Beryl replied, "But I suppose killing my guests isn't high society behavior either, and yet here I am." She turned to Mamoru. "I want to hear her scream. My youma will contain the Senshi."

"Yes, my queen," he said, stepping forward.

"Is that Mamoru?" Mina exclaimed incredulously as four very ugly beasts emerged from the shadows and took hold of the Senshi.

"Odango, what'd you do this time?" Rei asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but what came out was a muted gasp. Mamoru had taken advantage of the commotion to plunge a sword through my stomach.

It was a nice sword, too, I noticed, with a black hilt and pretty carvings. Then, everything went black.

_TBC_

**A/N # 2:ducks: I'm sorry. Please don't kill me. I couldn't resist with that one. I fully planned to finish the fic real-story-wise with this chapter, but it was just such a good place to leave off. I mean, think of how boring your week would be if I didn't do this. :P **

**The last chapter will be up next weekend, I swear. I know I haven't updated in a while, so kudos to those of you who have stuck with me for all this time, and I hope you liked it. I apologize if you didn't. The next one will be better.**

**Either way, let me know in your review.**

**_/He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news./_** _-Unknown (recommended by IssaLee)_


	10. X: An End to All Things, Good & Bad :v2:

**A/N # 1: This is version two of the epilogue. Version one was up last Friday, as promised, but it wasn't exactly a great draft. Why? Because my dad was afflicted with something my mom likes to call diarrhea of the mouth and spent two hours lecturing me about nothing in particular. As a result, when I sat down at my computer around nine and only had two pages done, I panicked. I wrote the next five pages with my MP3 player blasting music into my ears, and posted it around two a.m., Saturday. As a result, there were a few continuity errors that needed to be fixed, such as the fact that Motoki actually called off the bet around chapter four or five and thus didn't really owe Mamoru money. The biggest changes are what happened after the battle, so go ahead and skip to that if you want to reread. There are also notes about upcoming stuff at the bottom.**

**Disclaimer:** **You know the drill guys—don't own it, don't sue.**

**OOOPS!  
Epilogue  
**—_An End to All Things, Good and Bad—_

**-Tsukino Usagi  
Time: Unknown; Whereabouts: Questionable-**

Several variations of "Usagi, no!" sounded through the room.

"That wasn't a scream! I said I wanted to hear her scream!" Beryl protested, sounding rather like a petulant child. _Oh, nice_, I thought, wincing. Someone had my shoulder in a death grip, and my knees were sore from being pressed against the rough, grainy floor.

"My apologies, my queen. I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Old habits die hard. It won't happen again."

Surely this couldn't be my afterlife. What kind of thanks was this for all those time I'd risked my butt to save the world?

At least my stomach wasn't bothering me, I reflected. Most people probably experienced some sort of discomfort after being disemboweled, but not I. Thank Kami for small kindnesses.

Wondering what the place where I'd be spending the rest of eternity looked like, I opened my eyes. And closed them again.

The afterlife wasn't pretty.

Obviously leading a double-life and saving innocents every day wasn't enough to guarantee a girl a tropical island teeming with cute guys. It hadn't even gotten me a sunny meadow, I thought as I surveyed the place through my eyelashes. For one thing, it looked remarkably like Beryl's cave. For another, there was blood everywhere. And to add insult to injury, Mamoru, the last person I wanted to see, was methodically cleaning the blade of his sword on my fuku. I wondered if whoever was in charge here would do anything to me for ensuring that he would not procreate.

"Finally," he hissed, his gaze lighting on my shocked expression. "I thought I was going to stand here forever. Follow my lead, Odango, and we may yet get out of this alive."

I stared, not quite able to voice what I was thinking. _What_?

"I'll create a distraction. You'll kill her. Simple enough?"

I nodded. Satisfied, he gave me a push and let go of my shoulder. I slumped to the floor.

"Make sure it doesn't," Beryl was saying when I started paying attention again.

"Of course, my queen. But in the meantime, I've just killed your greatest enemy—the leader of the Sailor Senshi. Those who remain are broken—" he paused a moment to throw the Senshi a pointed look. Obviously they saw something I hadn't because they stopped struggling against their captives and dissolved into loud, fake sobs. "I'll even venture," he continued confidently, "that if you call your youma away, they will still make no move to hurt you. Sailor Moon was their motivation, and she is gone."

_Oh no, he didn't._

'_Oh yes, he did,'_ Serenity replied grimly.

_She can't possibly fall for that._

"Release the Senshi," Beryl commanded. The youma vanished. As promised, the girls embraced each other and sank to the floor as one, shoulders shaking.

'_You know,'_ Serenity murmured thoughtfully, '_She never was very bright.'_

"And now we toast to our victory." Beryl produced two glasses filled with a dark blue liquid out of thin air. Smiling, she handed one to Mamoru. The two came together with a resounding ring and were quickly tipped back. Once finished, Mamoru took a step forward, encircled Beryl's waist with his arm, and pulled her into a kiss. I stood up. He'd conveniently positioned himself so that she had no choice but to turn her back to me.

"Moon…" I began quietly.

'_No,'_ Serenity interrupted. '_That's sure to kill her immediately.'_

_Uh…pardon, isn't that what we want?_

I could almost see Serenity shaking her head. '_There's something bigger than Beryl here. I knew her before…all this. She was certainly not stupid, but she didn't have the motivation or the attention span to stage something like this by herself. Someone else is pulling the strings, and we need Beryl at least partially alive if we're to figure out who.'_

Nodding subconsciously, I reached for my sword.

'_Dagger,'_ Serenity suggested before I had even touched the hilt. '_She'll take longer to die.'_

The years of training that the princess inside of me had undergone a thousand years ago came to life. They had lain dormant so far, during my first fifteen years on Earth, but no more. The weapon flew true and hit its target without qualms. Mamoru stepped back immediately and the Senshi clambered to their feet, eager to drop the charade.

And Beryl laughed. It was a loud, discordant sound, worse than nails on a chalkboard, and carried through the cavern as if she was expressing her feelings to the far wall, just like we were told to do in speech class. But the worst of it was the shivers it sent up my spine—like something slimy had been dropped down my fuku and was fighting to get out. It was the first time in a year that I was truly afraid of her.

"Very good!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "And hey, if I was a complete idiot, maybe I would have fallen for it." Beryl rolled her eyes. "I hope you didn't actually stab her, because that would be a shame, your pretty girlfriend dying at the hands of the man who loves her most."

"I don't—" Mamoru began to protest.

"Oh don't start," Beryl urged, waving her arms. A dark patch had appeared on her dress where the blood soaked through, and still she stood there, grinning like her evil plan had just come to fruition. "I remember Endymion well," she explained. "He was charming, intelligent, wild, and arse over tea kettle in love with Serenity." A note of bitterness crept into her voice. "He'd never betray her. I'd have to be a complete moron to think otherwise."

_I thought you said he was dangerous,_ I commented.

'_He is dangerous,'_ Serenity replied, '_to himself. Endymion has a horrible habit of getting himself into all sorts of scrapes that he can't possibly get out of without considerable damage to his person.'_

_You mean like that? _

(X)(X)(X)

**-Chiba Mamoru-**

If I could see Endymion, I would have crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. _Good job_, I congratulated.

'_So it didn't work exactly as planned. What does it matter if she knows you're a bad actor? She'll be dead in a few moments. You'll be able to go home and return to a life that doesn't require you to split the twenty-four hours you're allowed each day between your studies and saving the world. You'll be able to sleep for longer than it takes you to shower. Think about it and smile a little, for Gaea's sake.'_

I had to admit it: the old fart had a point. We'd underestimated Beryl, true, but we'd won. She was defeated, and as far as I knew, once dead, even evil witch demons stayed that way.

I felt tired, and the idea of a full night's sleep seemed like paradise. I swayed gently from side to side, picturing a warm, comfortable bed with soft, cotton sheets, and a fluffy pillow.

"Mamoru?" Usagi's voice cut through the haze like a knife, but the rest of the sentence was distorted, as if she was far away, and struggling to get her words across. She looked worried.

"It's all right, Odango," I assured her, grinning lopsidedly, "I'm just a little tired. Do me a favor, and wake me up when you figure out how to get us home."

A muffled curse echoed through my head as I slid to the floor that was so much more inviting now than five minutes ago.

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi-**

"No! Mamoru, no! Don't do that," I cried, rushing to his side before he could hit his head. "You can sleep when we get home."

"Don't bother," said Beryl, inspecting her nails with all the apathy of someone who didn't have a knife sticking out of their back. I was glad to see that she was looking more anemic that usual. "I added a little something to his drink. He'll be dead before I am."

"No, he won't be," I declared, laying two fingers across his wrist. The pulse was faint, like his breathing, but unmistakably there. I still had a chance.

_You need to tell me how to bring forth the ginzuishou. I can't let him die._

I waited for the reply.

_Serenity?_ _Where are you?_

There was none. No answer and no pulse.

"No," I gasped. Before I knew it, my breath was coming in short, quick gasps. I couldn't hold the air inside long enough to get my bearings, and my chest felt tight and constricted, like someone twice my size had sat on it. The humming in my ears didn't help. "Come on, baka," I whispered, shaking him roughly. "Don't bail on me now."

"You're wasting your time," Beryl informed me. It was fitting that she hit the floor seconds later.

"Ami, please tell me there's something we can do," I pleaded.

Ami, Makoto, Rei, and Mina, still in their fukus, had formed a circle of four around Mamoru and me, guarding from any possible danger.

Strands of blue hair rose and fell as Ami shook her head. "The computer's not picking up any vital signs, Usagi. He's gone."

"No!" Tears sprung to my eyes, and I blinked them away furiously. My stomach throbbed; the blood and the sword had disappeared, but the phantom wound had decided that it had every right to hurt as if it was real. Besides, I'd gotten stuck with so many sharp, pointy things in the past twenty-four hours that my body's healing powers could hardly be expected to keep up. Rei grabbed my wrist and with some difficulty, managed to pull me to my feet.

"We gotta go, Usagi. Something big is coming."

"No. Uh-uh." I jerked my hand out of her grasp. "I'm not leaving him."

"Yes, you are." Makoto grabbed me around the waist, preparing to drag me away. I kicked my feet and threw myself forward to catch her off balance. At half Mako-chan's height, I managed to throw her off me. Of course, the earthquake helped.

"Mamoru risked his life to make sure we had a fighting chance. He won't rot in this damned place," I yelled over the noise, scrunching up my face in a further attempt to hold back the waterworks. This was not the time.

The walls of the cave shook, dislodging the sharp, jagged rocks growing from the ceiling. I lunged forward, dodging falling debris to get to Mamoru's body. Kneeling beside him, I wrapped his arm around my neck and struggled to my feet.

Swearing, Makoto joined me and did the same with his other arm. With Mina and Rei clearing the way with their strongest attacks, and Ami scanning for the next falling stalactite, the two of us managed to drag him to the entrance and out into the snow. Before I could take another step, Beryl's stronghold, which I could now see was a huge rock, shaped whimsically like a castle, collapsed in on itself.

"It's gone," Mina whispered incredulously.

"Thank Kami and good riddance," muttered Makoto, wiping the sweat of her brow.

"Oh," squeaked Ami. She was looking past my shoulder, her blue eyes wide.

Rei followed her gaze. "Fuck," she bit out, narrowing her eyes.

Slowly, I turned around. "Yeah, that about covers it," I said weakly.

Beryl stood there, at five times her previous size, dress billowing in the wind. Ami's eyes flitted over the screen of her visor as her fingers danced nimbly across the miniature keyboard. "That's not Beryl," she stated. "It just looks like her."

"I don't care what it is or who it looks like," I declared grimly. "Can we kill it?"

"I don't know," she informed me, worrying her lower lip.

"Let's find out," Rei suggested, pulling her hands back into the familiar combination of gestures that would produce her signature attack. "_Mars_—" she began.

"What the hell is that?" Makoto asked. The Beryl-who-was-not-Beryl was cupping her hands up in front of her chest as if she was holding something round and soon, she was. It was black and pulsing with energy, and it was getting bigger before our eyes.

"Run," advised Mina, taking a step back.

But it was too late. The dark energy was released and flew across the wide stretch of land only slightly slower than Superman and hit me head on, encasing me in a mound of ice.

A whack of my Moon Wand ruptured the top of the ice crystal, putting me face to face with the brains of the operation. I was pleased to find that not only was I wearing a very particular dress, but I also happened to be holding the rock that would save us all; the ginzuishou.

Queen Metalia (my brain supplied the information automatically) strengthened her attack, and I fought to keep the protective force field the crystal formed intact. It was shrinking steadily.

"Uh…guys…a little help here?"

Startled out of the shock-induced trance, each girl put her hand on mine and called forward her power.

"_Mercury Power_!"

"_Mars Power!"_

"_Jupiter Power!"_

"_Venus Power!"_

"_Moon Prism Power!"_ I finished, concentrating on throwing every ounce of power the ginzuishou had at Queen Metalia. The bundle of white energy consumed all fifty feet of her entirely, and I collapsed to my knees, spent.

My vision blurred, and I thought I was going to lose consciousness. When I saw the two figures coming towards me, I wondered if I hadn't done so already.

As they came closer, I could discern a man and a woman, dressed in the regal attire of those of especially high status. They looked awfully familiar.

"Serenity?" I called out cautiously.

The woman smiled in reply, tossing one of her pale, blonde pigtails over her shoulder. A crescent moon glowed brightly on her forehead, illuminating her and her companion in light. Her companion. Endymion. Mamoru. Oh Kami.

"I couldn't save him. I tried so hard, but I couldn't save him." I told her in a whisper, focusing my gaze on the ground. I'd failed. I'd lost him.

"Couldn't save who?" asked someone in a raspy voice.

"Mamoru," I explained. "He's gone."

The speaker—I assumed it was Endymion—cleared his throat. "Uh…am I missing something, Odango?"

I looked up sharply and instantly thought I was hallucinating. Mamoru stood next to Endymion, looking every bit his reincarnation.

With a little gasp, I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're okay," I mumbled into his chest, forgetting that I was supposed dislike him strongly.

"Uh…yeah." He patted my back awkwardly.

"See? I told you it would all be all right," said Endymion taking a step forward. Mamoru lifted me up and placed me behind him, putting himself between me and the prince.

"You're a psychopath," he decreed, his voice rising a bit in panic. "I have absolutely no idea how you managed to get a princess to fall in love with you, but at this point, I don't care. Please, just leave me alone. I'm tired of hearing voices in my head."

"You've been hearing voices too?" I asked. "How long?"

"Since the battle at the Starlight Tower."

I was seconds away from shooting Serenity a withering look when something clicked inside my head. I could almost see the proverbial light bulb turning on. "The Starlight Tower? What were you doing at the battle of the Starlight Tower, Mamoru?" I asked suspiciously.

"Er…"

"And why didn't I see you there?"

"Well…" he gave me an uneasy smile. "It's sort of a long story, you see…"

"I've got time." I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting. When he didn't start talking immediately, I started thinking aloud. "The only way you could have been there without me knowing is if you were in disguise, like we were. You're not one of the Generals, or a Senshi, and you're certainly not a youma…" Suddenly, I knew where I had seen Endymion's cape before and also where I had heard the snobby, self-assured voice Mamoru had used when talking to Beryl. "Oh…my…God…" I whispered, my eyes widening in realization. "You're Tuxedo Kamen."

Mamoru stared at me like a deer stuck in the headlights, confirming my hypothesis. My jaw dropped. "You jerk!" I exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder. "And you've got the nerve to get on my case about being Sailor Moon? You're just as bad! At least I do something besides give corny speeches!"

"Hey!" Mamoru said indignantly, seeming to have found his voice. "I've saved your sorry ass more times than I can count, corny speeches or not."

I suppose it would have gone on like that for some time had Endymion not chuckled and regained my attention. "Reminds me of us when we first met," he was saying to Serenity in a low murmur. Reluctantly, I turned away from Mamoru.

"I think you owe us an explanation," I told them.

"All right." Serenity took a deep breath and began, "When Queen Serenity used the ginzuishou to give us all a second chance, she took Endymion's and my memories and locked them away inside our new bodies as punishment for defying her. Only if our reincarnations managed to fall in love would the ginzuishou let us go."

"We're not in love," Mamoru and I objected at the same time.

Serenity rolled her eyes and continued anyway. "We were awakened at the Tokyo Tower, when you used the ginzuishou for the first time, and I suppose you sobbing over his dead body convinced the crystal that neither time nor death would change the way we…you felt about each other. Since, however, you two decided to continue fighting like an old married couple despite everything, it was a bit reluctant to let us go until now."

"Satisfied?" asked Endymion.

"I suppose," Mamoru answered grudgingly.

"Good. It's time for you six to go home."

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
Monday, 7:30am; Tsukino Residence-**

Early Monday morning, I was rudely woken up by a loud shriek. Groaning, I lifted my covers off my head and glanced at the alarm clock. Seven thirty. School started in an hour, so I had at least another fifty minutes to try and sleep off the post-battle hangover. Resolving to do just that, I buried myself deeper into the blankets and closed my eyes. Unfortunately, someone else had a slightly different idea.

"Tsukino Usagi, _where_ have you been?" Wincing, I opened one eye a mere millimeter and peered at my mother. It was the first time in my life I had seen her look like she was having a bad day.

"Mama, could you keep it down just a bit?" I mumbled into the covers, "I think someone dropped a brick on my head yesterday."

She acted like she hadn't heard me. "What were you thinking? Your father and I have been worried sick! First, the library disappears, and then I find out you're in it? I just about had a heart attack! And then a hundred people, all presumed dead at this point, turn up at the Hikawa Shrine, claiming that Sailor Moon saved them. Where is my daughter, I ask, but nobody knows. You, young lady, have some serious explaining to do!"

Groaning, I sat up. "Mama," I said, slowly, "I have something to tell you."

"You're on drugs," my mother concluded, taking on look at my face. "I knew it! I knew this couldn't be normal. You're never home for more than ten minutes at a time, I've seen you sneaking out at night, going Kami knows where..." she trailed off. "Don't worry, Usagi. We'll get you the help you need."

"I'm Sailor Moon," I declared before she could check me into a rehab clinic.

"What?"

"That's why I didn't come back with the others," I continued.

"How long?" she asked faintly, sinking onto the bed.

So I told her. After a few minutes, she looked up.

"So let me get this straight—you're the reincarnation of a princess that lived a thousand years ago, and last year, when these attacks started, Luna gave you a magic brooch that turned you into Sailor Moon?" I nodded. "And you've been juggling school, friends, and fighting evil on two hours of sleep a night, and yesterday you killed two evil masterminds and brought a boy back from the dead?"

"Uh-huh."

"Right." She reached for the cordless phone on my table.

"What're you doing, Mama?"

"I'm calling my travel agent. You and your friends need a vacation."

(X)(X)(X)

**-Tsukino Usagi  
3:30pm; Crown Center Arcade-**

I walked into the Arcade later that day feeling awake and refreshed. My mother had called my school and informed the director that I was sick and would not be coming in. Then, she'd pulled down my blinds, tucked me in, and closed my door. I was out like light in two minutes and had gotten up an hour ago, happier than I've been in ages.

Smiling to myself as I hummed a popular Three Lights song under my breath, I walked up to the counter, greeted Motoki brightly, and ordered a triple chocolate milkshake with whipped cream.

"All right," he said, grabbing a clean glass, "just as long as it doesn't end up on someone's head."

"It won't," I promised. Once he was done, I grabbed my favorite beverage and escaped to an empty booth, seconds before a flock of teenage girls, fresh out of school, flocked the counter. Away from the commotion, I sipped the drink in peace, savoring the taste of chocolate as the cool liquid slipped down my throat. I was almost finished when someone slid into the seat across from me. I looked up curiously and was met by a bouquet of roses.

"I owe you an apology," came Mamoru's voice from behind the flowers. "I've been a real jerk lately, and I'm not quite sure what came over me, granted I suspect Endymion had something to do with it."

"You ran me through with a sword yesterday. Is that Endymion's fault, too?"

"Well first of all, yes. It was all his idea. And second, the sword that I supposedly ran you through with didn't actually exist. The whole thing was just an illusion, Ms. I'm-the-most-faint-hearted-Senshi-in-the-world Moon."

Had he not kept his voice exceptionally low, I would have yelled at him. Instead, I took the flowers from him and leaned my face into them, inhaling deeply. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"Umm…no…it means you're on probation. If you behave, you're forgiven," I said with a smile. After all, it was a chance to start over.

"You're flirting with me."

"No, I'm giving you another chance. Beggars can't be choosers, Mamoru." I wagged my finger at him playfully. "And besides," I added as an afterthought, "it would never work."

"Why not?" he inquired thoughtfully.

"Gosh, how about the fact that we don't like each other?"

"We don't like each other?" he asked in mock surprise.

I rolled my eyes.

He shook his head at the gesture. "Look, all I'm saying is that maybe Serenity and Endymion have stumbled onto something worth exploring."

"Maybe they have," I agreed, "but the fact remains that we are not Serenity and Endymion, Mamoru. They aren't even really a part of us anymore."

"No," he told me, "the fact remains that there isn't anybody in the world who I'd rather be locked in a closet with or stuck in a noisy mall with. It's not just that you can be a clumsy, ditzy, ball of energy one minute, and a cool, collected warrior the next. It's that I come to the Arcade hoping to see you and get worried when I don't. It's that you make me care about things other than myself and a few friends. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"Mamoru, that's sweet, but we're at each other's throats ninety percent of the time."

"And I love it a hundred percent of the time," he shot back with a smile. "It's fun to argue with you, Odango. It's fun and challenging, and I wouldn't give it up for the world, but it doesn't mean that we can't do other things too."

I stared at him, still unsure.

"I'm not asking you to accept a ring, Usagi, just dinner. We'll see where it goes from there."

"All right," I said slowly.

"Hey, Mamoru, can I get you anything?" Motoki asked from behind me.

Mamoru grinned widely in reply. "You can recommend a nice restaurant where I can take a pretty girl to dinner."

I blushed and pretended deep interest in the vestiges of my milkshake.

Taking in the strange scene, Motoki said, "Does this mean I'm out of 5500 yen?"

I looked up, wondering what he meant.

Mamoru was shaking his head. "Nah, you called it off, remember? Of course, if, out of the goodness of your heart, you feel like giving it to charity, I'm sure some poor orphan somewhere will be very pleased."

Motoki nodded, slapped Mamoru on the shoulder, and went back to the counter, where a crowd had gathered once again.

"What was that all about?" I wondered. Mamoru shook his head.

"You don't want to know, Odango. You don't want to know."

_Fin_

**A/N #2: It's finally finished. All ninety-six pages of it (if someone wants a compilation of the whole thing 'cause it's such a hassle to read it online, let me know, and I'll e-mail you a Microsoft Word version). I spent the last week inserting about one hundred commas into every one of the first eight chapters—I was very punctuation-phobic until I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves—and correcting various continuity errors. I can now officially declare the fic complete. I apologize to everyone I've upset with the last chapter, especially _Raining Tear Drops 4_. You should know that I never kill off characters I intend to ship unless I'm planning on bringing them back. **

To those of you who asked for a sequel**: I'm pretty sure at this point that there won't be one. However, you'll notice that I left myself a backdoor in case I can't let go. Usagi and her friends are going on vacation. There's a miniscule possibility that I will write that sometime in the future.**

To those who want me to write more**: As I was finishing this fic, I was thinking that I'm done with the Sailor Moon fandom. Then, I came across one of my old notebooks and read a plot bunny that attacked me a long time ago. Now, I'm seriously reconsidering. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the first chapter of another first love, SM fic, will be posted sometime soon. More about that and fanfiction of the HP fandom in my bio.**

In general**: I hope you all enjoyed the fic. Thank you for reading and giving me your opinions. It's been fun.**

**Please review, and let me know what you think.**

**_/A smart man covers his ass, a wise man leaves his pants on./_** _-C.D. Bailey_


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